Of Princes and Princesses
by pookie92
Summary: And also there are perverted monks and ladies-in-waiting that kick ass. A story that depicts the merger of the two greatest kingdoms in the land. But mostly Inuyasha just learns how to fall in love. AU InuKag, MirSan
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, not me. **

Prologue

_(Three years previous)_

"So it's agreed, then?" King Inu no Taisho confirmed, leaning back satisfactorily in his lavish seat. He had his large hand splayed on the long and incredibly detailed contract in front of him, the document bearing both his and his current wife, Queen Izayoi's signature.

King Higurashi looked to his own wife, Queen Emi for verification. He was a natural worrier, and was constantly looking for comfort and substantiation from his Queen and ruling partner. It was common knowledge that many of the laws and doctrines of Miko's Realm were courtesy of Emi rather than her husband. Both the people and her husband loved and respected her dearly.

Queen Emi smiled and nodded her head, kindly urging her husband to sign. King Inu no Taisho slid the document over to him, intertwining his fingers and resting them under his nose in concentration and slight impatience as he watched King Higurashi re-read the contract for the umpteenth time.

"My daughter will still be a monarch in this land as well, then?" King Higurashi asked, poising his inked quill to the contract, awaiting the answer.

"Yes, yes," King Inu no Taisho nodded exasperatedly, waving the other king to sign irritably. "As will my son remain a monarch in his."

"Both will be involved in the politics of both lands and peoples," Queen Izayoi clarified in her soft yet elegant voice.

Queen Emi nodded in agreement enthusiastically, holding her husband's elbow in a supportive embrace. "To ensure both their safeties and the protection of their kingdoms, dear," she said, nudging him sweetly to sign. "This contract is iron-clad and infallible. I couldn't hope for a better future for our daughter."

King Higurashi harrumphed and re-dipped his quill into the ink canister. "Well then, it seems like I can't refuse." After much deliberation and purposeful stalling, the king signed his name, then passed quill and contract to his wife to do the same.

"Alright, then!" King Inu no Taisho declared ardently, snatching the contract away from Queen Emi in his intrinsically brusque demeanor. He stood, offering a friendly hand to King Higurashi, who accepted it with much less fervor. Both kings led their wives over to the drawing table, where a word-for-word copy of the contract and the seals of the kingdoms sat waiting. The copy of the contract was signed by all four monarchs and each king dipped their respective seals into the wax, closing both documents until the day they were to be opened and signed anew by their children.

"It's settled," King Inu no Taisho continued, clapping a strong hand to King Higurashi's shoulder. "From this day hence forth, it shall be known that we are allies, my old friend." He called over to the door guards gruffly, ordering for his Advising Monk's appearance in the signing room at once. A guard bowed his head and slipped through the door.

A few short minutes later, there was a polite rapping at the door before it opened slightly, and a young monk looking not to have yet seen his thirties poked his head in expectantly.

"Miroku!" King Inu no Taisho boomed joyously, ushering the monk to approach the kings and queens. Miroku came to the king's side obediently, bowing his head to King Higurashi and Queen Emi in turn. Inu no Taisho patted Miroku's shoulder fatherly. "This here is Miroku, my son's right-hand man. He's also my personal advisor and assistant to the Head Monk in the King's personal monastery."

King Higurashi eyed Miroku up and down indifferently. The monk wore the profligate robes of a practitioner of a monastery from the Land of Yōkai indeed, though they were darker in color than Yōkaites' typical shades of white, consisting of varying hues of blue, purple, and gray. He was also not typical in other aspects of appearance; he wore his hair long instead of shaving his scalp bald and kept the shoulder-length black locks tied back in a low-set ponytail. Both his ears were pierced, his left baring two golden rings while his right bore one. The sacred rosary of nenju beads dangled lazily from his belt rather than being worn around his neck and there was a suspicious looking bandage and arm guard wrapped around his right hand, extending a little passed his wrist. The best the skeptical king could offer was that at least, for all his idiosyncrasies, his appearance could be considered clean and well-kempt.

"You speak fondly of him, my friend," King Higurashi addressed King Inu no Taisho, though his eyes still analyzed Miroku unimpressed. "Though to me he seems too young and . . . impressionable."

"Oh, nonsense, my husband," Queen Emi insisted, taking a good look at Miroku for herself. "He seems highly capable. Look at the shakujō he carries, no monk would carry one with such power unless they passed their credentials." She reached up to pat her husband's cheek with a mock reproach. "No matter how he looks. Besides, I think he's quite handsome."

Miroku bowed his head humbly, though King Higurashi did not miss the arrogant gleam flickering in his eyes. His poorly hidden smugness did nothing to warm the king up to this audacious so-called Advising Monk.

"My Lady flatters me so," Miroku said, keeping his head bowed, though King Higurashi could hear the cocky smirk in his voice. "I am but a humble monk."

King Inu no Taisho let out a thunderous laugh. "Come now, man!" he jested his fellow king, placing both his hands on Miroku's shoulders in praise. "Lady Emi is right; Miroku has seen twenty-one winters yet and has indeed passed his credentials with amazing competence. I wouldn't trust a better friend to my son and I wouldn't trust a better page with my own errands."

"Again, my Lordship indulges me too highly," Miroku said placidly, smiling at the king like a son to a father.

"Of course I do," King Inu no Taisho agreed teasingly, giving Miroku's head a playful shove. He turned back to King Higurashi and Queen Emi. "He gives me some trouble sure, but never intentionally. He's got a great heart." He smiled down at his wife, his fangs and long, white hair glistening in the lamplight. "He's only human, naturally."

King Higurashi's poor opinion of Miroku had little to no chance of improving, though he swallowed his judgments and nodded his approval to King Inu no Taisho. "Very well, Inu no Taisho. What are to be his duties?"

"Miroku is the only one my son trusts to represent him diplomatically," Queen Izayoi explained. "As both our children are young and unlearned, it is only proper they are to be represented by proxy until they reach the proper age. We will trust Miroku to do as such for our son."

"Quite right, quite right, Lady Izayoi," King Higurashi nodded, turning to the door guards again. "You, there, fetch Sango for me please."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard bowed from the room once more.

"Sango is our daughter's chief Lady-in-Waiting. Similar to your son and the Monk Miroku, she is the only one trusted by the young Princess in matters of diplomacy," Queen Emi filled in while they waited. "She's also young, but as proven herself splendidly time and again."

The door guard returned, barely leaving the doorway open for the brisk and decisive entrance of a young girl behind him. She _was_ young, younger than Miroku it appeared, and dressed much plainer than a Princess's personal handmaiden should be. Her skirt was shorter than normally proper, ending mid-calf and showing the leggings and boots typical of outdoor wear, her shirt and vest also casual. The sleeves of the shirt came down off her shoulders and ended at her forearm, and both the shirt and vest were anchored by a thick leather belt cinched around her small waist.

The young Lady-in-Waiting wasted no time dillydallying and marched straight to the monarchs purposefully, sending a short, but respecting nod in the direction of King Inu no Taisho and Queen Izayoi. She addressed King Higurashi directly, "You called, my Lord?"

"Yes, my dear," King Higurashi said fondly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and turning her to face King Inu no Taisho, Queen Izayoi and Miroku once more. His relationship with his own child's servant was very parental, similar to Inu no Taisho and Miroku. He spoke to the Yōkai king, "This is Sango. She'll represent my daughter in this matter until the princess reaches the proper age."

King Inu no Taisho observed Sango with an eyebrow cocked humorously. "Why, Higurashi, here you complain about my Advising Monk's young age while you present us with a handmaiden who barely looks old enough to marry! That hardly seems fair." He gestured for Sango to step forward. "How old are you, girl?"

"Sixteen this month, Your Highness," Sango answered promptly. She spared a fleeting glance towards Miroku, who hadn't taken his eyes off her since she entered the room. "Though you needn't worry about me. I can hold my own."

"Can you now?" King Inu no Taisho raised both eyebrows in mock astonishment. "Would you like to have a duel?"

"Dear," Queen Izayoi put a hand on her husband's elbow, reproaching him gently. To Sango she said, "Forgive him, my child, he likes to tease."

In a brash move, Sango swept her eyes up and down King Inu no Taisho's intimidating build, as if sizing him up. "I'm proficiently skilled in the art of archery and of the sword," she informed the foreign monarchs bluntly, "And more than masterful in hand-to-hand combat. There's not a man or yōkai that has bested me in battle yet."

King Inu no Taisho looked genuinely interested now. "Indeed?" He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully and sized up Sango's small frame for himself. "You better keep an eye on this one, Higurashi," he informed the other king. "I may steal her for my kingdom. She would be an army general, not some Lady-in-Waiting."

"Yes, well," King Higurashi huffed worriedly, "Now is that anyway to talk to an ally, my good man? Come now, we have much to discuss regarding this treaty." He stretched his arm out to King Inu no Taisho and Queen Izayoi inviting them to leave the room with him. The kings and queens took their leave of the signing room, and King Higurashi turned back once more before he disappeared, calling to Miroku and Sango. "You two make arrangements for each other, sort things out amongst yourselves." The door to the signing room closed, echoing across the otherwise empty room.

Sango kept her eyes fixated on the door for a while, as if this was the last thing she wanted to do. Miroku took the time to look at her fully without being improper in front of kings and queens. She was absolutely beautiful, and for him that was saying something. Miroku had been known to fraternize with the various women of Court back in the Land of Yōkai (the "trouble" King Inu no Taisho had mentioned earlier), though this one's splendor could swear him off all other lady-folk for life. She had long chocolate-colored hair held high on her head in a ponytail that flowed down passed her shoulders like silk. Her eyes were a bright golden-brown accented by smoky pink shades swept across her lids, matched perfectly by pink lips that reminded him of rose petals. Her body offered more wonders, perfectly curved and proportional: her hips perfect for child-bearing, her waist small and feminine, her bottom (though he'd only had fleeting glances at it) seemed flawlessly round, her breasts—oh, Lord, her_ breasts_—they were more than ample and full, accentuated by the vest, the clasps underneath them emphasized them fantastically. She looked remarkably soft and delicate—though, Miroku remembered those looks were deceptive; she had proclaimed herself an extraordinary fighter. In short, he mused, he seemed to have found himself in the presence of a goddess.

Sango cleared her throat and Miroku was brought out of his revere, and he looked back to her face to see her staring at him expectantly, not seeming to be impressed with him at all even though she didn't know him. Her demeanor looked a little more callous than before and he wondered momentarily if he'd been caught in his admiration.

"Sango, am I right?" Miroku verified her name coolly, trying to hide his interest in her. If she knew how immediate his attraction was, it might put her out forever.

"Monk," she responded shortly, linking her hands behind her back.

Miroku took in her indifference and raised an eyebrow. "My name is Miroku," he said, straightening his posture proudly.

Sango blinked her eyes slowly, silently showing him how little she cared. Miroku cleared his throat awkwardly.

"How old is the princess?" he asked, taking her example and focusing on the matter at hand.

"Twelve years," Sango replied, as precise as ever. At least she seemed to treat him better the less he tried to engage her in a conversation involving anything else than what they were brought to discuss.

"Twelve," Miroku repeated thoughtfully, "Still three years till she becomes of age."

"And the prince?"

"Hmm?"

"The prince, how old is he?" Sango reiterated and for the first time she looked genuinely interested. She appeared to have the princess's best interests at heart, something that Miroku could respect and relate to given his relationship with both the Yōkai princes.

"He's fourteen years, though as you know, age is not really of concern in the Land of Yōkai." He was daring to joke, but it seemed to go over well enough.

Sango nodded contemplatively, looking back over to the door as if she expected someone to come through it. "Three years. . ." she mused, then gave one last determined nod. She finally offered her hand to Miroku in greeting and he took it, offering her a small grin in return.

"Well, Lord Monk, it looks as though we will come to see quite a lot of each other for the next three years," Sango said, shaking his hand firmly.

Miroku's grin widened.

* * *

**AN: So this is obviously the prologue to my first fanfiction. You know the drill; read and review and all that jazz. Anyway, I'm not much into writing these little tidbits at the end of each chapter (I'd prefer just to leave it at the story) so remember the aforementioned drill, please! I'll see you at the epilogue!**

**Enjoy :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter One

The rings dangling from the ornament of his shakujō jingled loudly as Miroku made his way across the castle grounds. Prince Inuyasha had gone missing again, and as usual, it was put to the monk to find him. Miroku sighed heavily and trudged through passed the many flower beds and gardens without paying too much attention to where he was going. He valued his friendship with the young prince highly, though sometimes, he wished Inuyasha was more like his older half-brother, the Crowned Prince Sesshomaru. Although Sesshomaru was too old when Miroku came to serve his father for the monk to be his guard-dog (no pun intended), he was still not as troublesome to attend as his younger brother.

Soon, Miroku found himself at the base of a large, familiar tree. He planted his staff firmly in the dirt, then lowered himself down to a comfortable meditating position. His breathing deepened and he closed his eyes, momentarily forgetting about is duty to find the absent prince. The sounds of the gardens became louder and louder as he himself quieted, the winds rustling through the distant flowers sounding like a powerful storm and the bugs crawling among the leaves sounding like the stampede of a thousand beasts. The branches above his head swayed heavily, as if weighed down by a terrible force.

Suddenly Prince Inuyasha leapt down from the tree, landing inches away in front of the peaceful monk his hands splayed menacingly as he crouched before him. "Hah!" he bellowed in Miroku's face, adding to the certain scare he'd caused him.

Miroku opened his eyes rather lazily, not having flinched one muscle in the light of Inuyasha's shocking and sudden appearance. "Prince Inuyasha," he said conversationally, "How nice it is to finally see you."

Inuyasha's hands and face fell, and he moved his fists to support him as he continued to crouch in front of Miroku, his posture resembling that of a sitting dog. "I didn't scare you, huh?"

"I've known you since you were just a pup, Your Majesty. I'm afraid I've grown too used to your childish antics." His words were morose and mature, though he grinned at the prince teasingly.

"You could've pretended or something, Miroku," Inuyasha insisted, his dog ears twitching in irritation.

Miroku laughed and relaxed from his meditation pose; the aura between them now more resembled two old friends instead of a master and his servant. "You are now seventeen years old, my Prince. I'd long ago thought we'd gotten too old for games of make-believe."

Prince Inuyasha snarled and jumped back into the tree branches, once more finding his perfect perch. "Shut up," he huffed, scratching his claws into the bark. "What did you want anyway?"

"I've been sent to find you," Miroku informed him, standing and turning to face the tree. He pulled his shakujō from its mount in the ground. "Apparently, I have a gift that few in this castle do."

"Yeah, and what's that? Perversion?"

"Well, there's that," Miroku acquiesced, "But I also happen to know all of your favorite hideouts."

"Oh, really?" Inuyasha came back down from his perch and started walking away from the tree and Miroku. "Then I'll need to find new ones, won't I?"

"Before you do, Majesty," Miroku called after him, hastily catching up to the young prince's fast pace, "I actually do have business with you. More than finding you, I mean."

Prince Inuyasha sighed and turned abruptly, almost causing Miroku to run right into him. "Alright, Monk, state your business." He had the tendency to become even more rude and thoughtless when matters concerned him and business; Miroku knew Inuyasha had yet to learn the patience it took to run a kingdom.

"I am to make a trip to Miko's Realm," the monk informed him. "I leave this evening. Is there any message you wish me to convey to the princess?"

"Oh that," Prince Inuyasha turned and continued searching the grounds for more hideaways. "I already told you what to say to her."

Miroku sighed as he traipsed after Inuyasha. "Yes, but sir, if I may be so impertinent, young Princess Kagome is to be your bride in a little over a month. Perhaps you should say something more . . . meaningful. Your current message is, and I quote, 'Hey.'"

"And I mean it," the prince insisted. "Now get off my tail, Miroku, I want to see if I can make old man Totosai have another heart attack."

* * *

Sango watched as Princess Kagome paced her room in a tizzy. They were expecting another message from Prince Inuyasha by midday tomorrow, and while it was exciting to hear from her betrothed—whom she'd never met—it irked the princess so that the prince had yet to make a personal visit. Their wedding was set for five weeks from now, and even though as of four months ago they both were now of proper age, Prince Inuyasha continued to convey through his right-hand man, the monk Miroku. Out of the same courtesy (or lack of it) Kagome referred her messages through Sango as well, but now, with time running out so quickly, the irritation was hard to ignore.

"Oh, Sango, what am I supposed to do?" Kagome asked through teeth clenched in frustration. She'd stopped her pacing and now stared at her ceiling, as if demanding answers from it. "What if the first time we speak won't be until the wedding ceremony? Then all we'll say is 'I do', and we'll go straight back into not talking to each other."

"I'm sure he'll say something to you before he says 'I do', Princess," Sango said comfortingly.

"Like what?" Kagome demanded. "I'll meet him at the alter and he'll lean over and whisper, 'nice to finally meet you?'"

Sango snickered, unable to contain herself. "Forgive me, Princess," she apologized through her quiet giggles, "I am simply impressed with your ability to keep your sense of humor in a situation such as this."

Princess Kagome sighed and sat next to Sango on the window seat, holding up her hand in a silent request for Sango to hold it in comfort. Obliging, Sango ran her fingers through Kagome's long, thick black hair soothingly. They were from vastly different stations in life, but Kagome still considered her Lady-in-Waiting to be her best friend. She'd been the one to spend the most time with the princess, it was only natural that the young princess had grown to view the nineteen-year-old handmaiden as the older sister she never had.

Knowing she could confide anything in Sango, she whispered, "I fear the marriage I am to have with Prince Inuyasha."

"I wouldn't worry, my Lady," Sango assured her, trying to find some words of comfort, "I know of several marriages that have lasted lifetimes and have a respectable strength to them where true love has never been present."

Kagome nodded, still a little despondent, but she seemed to accept the reassurance. She rested her head on Sango's shoulder and asked unexpectedly, "How come you've never married, Sango?"

"No one's asked me," Sango replied quickly, surprised at Princess Kagome's question.

"That's no excuse," the princess insisted, raising her head and shoving her shoulder against Sango's playfully. "Haven't you ever loved someone?"

Sango felt her face heat up in a terrible blush. She tried to steer the conversation away from her own love life and turned to the princess. "Do you love Prince Inuyasha, my Lady?"

Princess Kagome's brow furrowed in offence and she moved away from Sango, pulling the bell rope for a servant to come change out her water basin for the night.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace," Sango pleaded. "It wasn't my place to ask."

Sighing, Kagome stretched her arms out, signaling for Sango to change her into her nightgown. "No, it's . . . it's alright. I think perhaps I just didn't know how to answer."

Sango slipped the dress off of Kagome's shoulders and bent down for her to step out of it, then set to work unlacing the petticoat layer. "I could help you," she offered humbly, setting her clothes in the hamper to be washed and slipping the nightgown over Kagome's head. "Think of your answer, I mean."

Another Lady-in-Waiting knocked at the door and slipped in, bowing to the princess and hurriedly changing the basin to fresher, cooler water. She scooped up the discarded clothes from the hamper and bowed once more on her way out.

"I just wonder if it's foolish of me to love him already," Kagome admitted once the door clicked shut behind the Lady-in-Waiting. "I've never met him, I have no idea what he's like, really, and I don't even know what he looks like." She sighed, settling into the plush mattress of her bed while Sango pulled the blankets up around her to her liking. "I've been betrothed to him since I was twelve years old," she continued, "I've never known there to be anyone else for me but him. For three years I've viewed him in my head as my husband, and . . . thing's evolved from there. . ."

"It's natural for a wife to love her husband," Sango smiled at her, helpfully concluding the princess's explanation.

"That's just it, though! I don't know if I love him or the _idea_ of him." Kagome looked exasperated at herself, as if even she wasn't grasping what she was saying. "Do you understand, Sango?"

"Yes," Sango said doubtfully. "Perhaps you needn't worry though, Princess. Prince Inuyasha seems gentlemanly and romantic enough from his messages."

"It's still only an idea," Kagome folded her arms and pushed herself down further into her pillows and blankets. "I just wish I could've met him already. Is five weeks enough to learn to love somebody for themself and not just an idea of them?"

Sango opened her mouth only to close it, feeling foolish. She really had no more advice or consolation to give. Kagome sighed once more in place of Sango's answer, raising her hand to dismiss any further discussion.

"It's alright, Sango. I'd like to go to sleep now. Goodnight."

Sango nodded and excused herself from the room. "Goodnight, Princess."

* * *

The next morning Princess Kagome was up with the sun and kept herself busier than usual, as if killing the time before Inuyasha's message arrived while simultaneously trying to make sure she was preoccupied enough to not be around when it did come. Around ten in the morning she left with her younger brother, Prince Sota, on his horseback riding lessons, even though she'd stopped taking the lessons herself four years ago.

The messenger, Miroku, arrived precisely at noon, and King Higurashi and Queen Emi saw him in the grand entrance hall.

"Miroku, how good to see you again," Queen Emi greeted cheerfully when Miroku raised himself from his bow. "Have you more news from Prince Inuyasha for our daughter?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty," Miroku confirmed with a nod. "He sends word to his Princess. Is she in?"

"I'm afraid you'll be seeing Sango again, Lord Monk," King Higurashi informed him, standing up from his throne and offering a hand to his wife to lead her from the room. "The princess is away right now. We'll send for Sango, she'll be here shortly."

Miroku bowed again as the monarchs left the room, sighing heavily once they disappeared. It had been four months since Princess Kagome turned fifteen, yet she still refused to take Prince Inuyasha's messages personally. He had a suspicious inkling that it had to do with the fact that he was still delivering the messages instead of the prince himself, which only dampened his hopes for the wedding even further. With Prince Inuyasha's lack of commitment to the whole ordeal and Princess Kagome's reluctance at her absent husband-to-be, he found his optimism being stretched too thin to hold out much longer.

Shaking his head, Miroku cleared his thoughts of such depressing notions. At least he got to see Sango again. As if on cue, footsteps sounded from behind him and he turned to see Sango approaching him, her face stoic and business-like as usual.

"Ah, Sango," he spoke warmly, familiarly. They'd had regular correspondence for three years, after all. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"You have word from the Prince?" Sango asked, cocking an unresponsive eyebrow at his spread and welcoming arms.

"Must you be so cold, Sango?" Miroku whined, feigning offence. "After all we've been through, you won't even muster a pleasant greeting for an old friend?"

Sango sighed and rolled her eyes, shifting her weight onto one leg and jutting her hip out impatiently. "Just tell me what the prince said, Miroku."

Miroku grinned at her mischievously, letting her know that she wasn't off the hook just yet. Then he straightened up, and declared in his best pageboy voice, "He sends his anticipation and affects for the princess. He apologizes profusely for their prolonged separation and grows weary of it as well. He speaks fondly of the princess, eagerly awaiting their wedding and promised life together."

Sango nodded, seeming to be satisfied with this message, though something still seemed to be bothering her. "When will he come in person?" she asked.

Miroku raised his eyebrows in slight surprise and consternation. He had to think of a clever way to avoid this question and fast. "The prince does not wish to come to her," he started slowly, then at the look on Sango's face, he quickly added, "That is, he is planning to send for her next week . . . so that they may spend the last month of their engagement settling into the land from which they will govern together." He winced indiscreetly, cursing his runaway mouth. How was he going to pull this one off?

It more than did the trick, however, as Sango's eyes widened in pleasant shock and actually let out a disbelieving, joyous laugh. "He is? Oh, Miroku, you have no idea how long Princess Kagome has awaited this!"

"Yes, well. . ." Miroku let out a small laugh of his own, out of nervousness rather than joy. "I can hardly believe it myself. . ." He stepped closer to her, turning the focus from the prince and princess back to themselves. "Perhaps, if the princess is permitting, she'll see me herself this time, to hear the wonderful news in person."

Sango looked doubtful, and she hadn't seemed to notice his approach. "I don't know, Miroku, my Lady has had a hard time dealing with the separation as of late."

"Perhaps this will be the boost she needs. . . " His hand slipped down to that oh so familiar and well-loved spot on her bottom and his fingers started to squeeze.

Sango's wide and happy eyes suddenly narrowed with ire and her own hand swung up to his face, violently colliding with his cheek. "You lecher!" she seethed, her face red hot with a fiery blush.

"Forgive me, my dear Sango," Miroku pleaded with a sneaky grin on his face while he nursed his reddening cheek. "It's my cursed hand. You see, I can't seem to control it around you." To prove his point, Miroku made another grab at her bottom only to have his hand slapped away indignantly.

Sango studied his face intently, her blush deepening at the sight of his arrogant and confident features. Suddenly her eyes flicked around the room, verifying the coast was clear before folding her arms and marching towards a darkened study room.

Miroku followed uninvited, his haughty grin widening and both his hands itching to feel her body at their fingertips. He walked a little ways into the room, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness before he heard the door slowly swing shut behind him.

"You need to be more careful of your actions in public," Sango warned, though her voice was soft and low, sounding oddly compliant. Her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders, her arms finally wrapping around his neck. Their lips met, needing and unbridled and wanton. Miroku wrapped his own arms around her as well, his fingertips inching lower and lower on her hips.

"Mmm," he hummed into the kiss, disregarding her warning. "It's been far too long, my dearest Sango."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Two

Miroku pulled Sango into an embrace, pushing her naked back into his bare chest. She wriggled a bit, snuggling into the embrace and rested her hand on top of his, lacing her thin fingers through his contentedly. Their clothing spread out and piled beneath them made a pitiful cushion for the hard wooden table they lay across, though they found themselves comfortable enough within each other's arms.

Pulling her hair back and exposing the back of her neck to him, Miroku offered the warm and slightly sweaty skin a few kisses before whispering in her ear, his breath hot and enticing, "You are a truly tempting person, my dear." He delighted in watching her ear turn red from the effect of her blush and couldn't help but run a quick lick up the shell of it.

Sango started wriggling in his arms again, trying to turn to face him. Complying, Miroku shifted so he was lying on his back, and she draped herself across his chest, wrapping a strong leg around his hips. He could feel her plentiful breasts pressing into his upper abdomen and decided that he liked this position much better. Wrapping one arm around her back, he reached down with the other and soothingly ran his fingers up and down the expanse of her thigh.

"That was incredible," Sango conceded, keeping her face pressed to his chest to hide the blush that deepened at her own words.

"It was," Miroku agreed, kissing the top of her head. "It's sure to make the time we spend apart that much more unbearable."

Her embrace momentarily tightened, as if silently conveying that their separation was insufferable for her as well. They had grown rather unfortunately used to parting for extended periods of time after each reunion; as such the heartbreaking and miserable farewell rituals were short-lived. Their time apart had therefore come to be viewed by both as a strengthening period, their love and desires only fueled to bursting each time they could see each other. And now, as they lay in comfortable silence, they took advantage of a rare opportunity to have a longer time together. Normally, the task of giving and receiving messages for the prince and princess did not allow them so much time to lay nestled in the arms of one another after making love.

Sango sighed serenely, filling the silence after a measure of time. "So tell me, Miroku," she ventured, "Tell me what Prince Inuyasha is really like. From his messages, I have to admit he seems too good to be true."

Miroku's steady breathing faltered for a bit as his chest involuntarily tightened apprehensively. Sango didn't seem to notice and waited patiently for his answer, her hand reaching up to play absentmindedly with his hair, having been loosed from its normal ponytail. He nuzzled his body tighter against hers, subconsciously tightening their embrace in an effort for intangible support.

"Ah, dearest Sango," he finally breathed in sorrowful contemplation, "Perceptions of a person run too easily amok in situations like these." Sango raised her head to look him in the eye, wary and curious. He continued, cupping her face tenderly with his always-bandaged right hand, "My darling, before I explain myself, you must know of my intentions. I only wished to bring happiness and hope to you and the princess in light of a marriage forged with the benefit of others in mind."

Sango's wariness and curiosity melted into concern. "What do you mean?"

"Prince Inuyasha is a good man at heart. He possesses a sense of justice and bravery that could never be rivaled."

"But?" Sango filled in the unspoken exception in Miroku's tone.

Miroku paused, trying to figure out the best way to let Sango (and more importantly, the princess) down from this cloud of perceived character. "He's . . . stubborn," he finally said, struggling to find the words that would neither over- nor understate the prince's personality. "He's unruly, cantankerous, and . . . rude." That seemed pretty accurate, although the adjective 'rude' more appropriately should've been 'offensive.'

Sango looked incredibly distraught. "So, in other words, they're completely awful for each other," she bemoaned, sitting up and pushing her bangs back, feeling overwhelmed in light of Miroku's disheartening description of Prince Inuyasha. "Their relationship is doomed before it'll even really begin!"

"No, I wouldn't say so, my dear," Miroku consoled, sitting up with her quickly and pulling her into a comforting embrace. With her cheek tucked against his collarbone, he ducked his head to give a solacing kiss to the top of hers before resting his chin on the soft cushion of her dark brown hair. Despite his own slipping optimism for the relationship of the prince and princess, he had to offer comfort to his lover somehow, even if he found it difficult to believe in his own words of comfort.

"Look at us," he offered as example, pulling away from the embrace just a little and raising her head by the chin to meet his gaze. "Three years ago we were so different there was no hope of us ever getting along. Two years ago, we only saw fit to use each other for the sake of a noncommittal fling." He smiled and swept his thumb across her cheek as if wiping away an invisible tear. "And now here we are," he continued, kissing the corner of her mouth briefly. "So deeply, foolishly in love we risk our positions in Court and everything we have just to continue our relationship."

Sango sighed and buried her head back in his neck, wrapping her arms around his chest tightly. "I love you, Miroku," she whispered, her voice slightly muddled.

"And I love you," Miroku responded confidently, running his fingers through her long hair.

There was a tender pause, then: "What about his messages?" Sango asked, turning her head in the embrace so she could be heard clearly, "They all sounded so romantic and sincere . . ." she trailed off, raising her eyes to look at his face as he winced apologetically.

"You made them up," she concluded from his silent reaction. "For the sake of the princess and I," she finished, remembering his initial statement of his intent.

"I may have embellished them, yes," Miroku admitted.

Nodding, Sango looked him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "What about the one where he called for her presence in the Land of Yōkai next week?"

Miroku didn't immediately respond, and Sango sighed, unable to mask her disappointment and irritation. She slipped down from the table and began reaching for her clothes, ignoring their tradition of dressing each other.

"Wait," Miroku pleaded, jumping down from the table and stopping her as she pulled on her undergarments and slip. "Just because I exaggerated doesn't mean that I won't make it happen."

"It was a lie, Miroku, not an exaggeration. There would have to be some truth to it for it to be exaggerated," Sango snapped, reaching for the skirt that he'd snatched away from her in an effort to stall her further.

"Hear me out, Sango," he begged, moving the skirt behind his back and grabbing her wrist as she went after it.

"Miroku! You're being childish!" Despite her ridicule, Miroku did not relent.

"I promise," he swore, bringing the back of her captured hand to his lips, ignoring the roll of her eyes as he gave it a loving kiss. "I promise you that Prince Inuyasha will send for the princess in a week."

Sango studied him hard, finding herself slightly irritated that his eager confidence didn't shake for all her harsh scrutiny. "You promise?" she demanded, stepping closer to him with intimidation.

"I swear it to you as my love on the graves of my mother and father," Miroku confirmed solemnly, using her threatening proximity as an excuse to pull her into a hug.

Sango sighed again and let herself be brought into the embrace, though she didn't return it. "How will you manage to pull this one off, I wonder?" she mused, though there was a certain bite to her voice that told Miroku she really wanted to know.

Miroku paused, then gave her lips a quick peck with a mischievous smile. "It's a secret," he told her, thinly veiling his lack of a plan.

* * *

Princess Kagome stayed in the stable for some time after returning from the morning's ride with her younger brother. She led her horse to the water trough and stroked its long, elegant face as it drank greedily.

"Ah, my friend," she whispered to her horse as it continued to guzzle down water, "It seems as though I have put myself in an inconsolable mood."

The horse stopped drinking and turned its head towards her, putting its nose in her stalled hand and nudging it.

"Oh, no, friend," Kagome laughed as she hung the oat sack around its neck and allowed it to eat its fill contentedly. "It's not your fault. Of course it's no one's fault but my own. I have let my imagination and my emotions run too far away from me." She sighed, lowering herself to sit on a bound bale of hay. "I cannot seem to catch up this time, however."

Princess Kagome watched with her chin resting in her palm as her horse continued munching away at the oats. Every once in a while it would turn towards her and stare at her serenely as it ate, as if mildly concerned about the princess's stress. Kagome removed the sack from the horse's neck and dug around in the pocket of her riding apron for a sugar cube.

"Can I confide in you, friend?" she asked quietly, petting the horse's cheek with one hand as she allowed it to nibble the sugar cube from her other. "This arranged marriage between Prince Inuyasha and I is supposed to be for the safety and protection of the Sacred Jewel," she tapped the purple-pink pearl set into the intricate metal weavings of her silver tiara, "And me, as the Crown Princess of Miko's Realm. I am the sole, sworn protector of the Jewel." She caught the horse staring at her again and giggled to herself softly. "But of course you are a citizen of this Realm just as much as any other and you already know that, don't you, friend?"

The horse blinked in response and sniffed at her riding apron for another sugar cube.

"But sometimes I wonder," the princess continued more solemnly, granting the horse's request for another treat before moving back to sit on the bale of hay. "Sometimes, a lot more than usual lately, I wonder if it's so bad for the Jewel or me if I just run away from it all. I mean, can it possibly be so terrible if I don't go through with the marriage?"

There came a sharp "ahem!" from the wide doorway leading into the barn and stables and Kagome jumped, nearly falling off the bale of hay in a very un-princess-like manner.

"Princess Kagome," the sharp voice called from the doorway. The tall, backlit woman didn't seem too keen on entering the barn. "You are late for your archery lessons."

"Oh, it's you, Kikyo," Princess Kagome greeted in return, rising from her seat and dusting herself off. "I'm sorry, I seem to have lost track of the time."

"Yes, well," Kikyo sniffed disapprovingly as the princess joined her at the doorway and walked with her to the archery range. "If your so-called Lady-in-Waiting were doing her job instead of gallivanting off God only knows where, we wouldn't have this problem, would we?"

"Oh, give Sango a break," Kagome scolded mildly, "Everyone deserves time to relax now and then."

"When taking care of the princess is the job, there is no time off," Kikyo said severely. She gestured pointedly at the bow and quiver awaiting Kagome. "Pick them up, there's no more time to delay your lesson."

Kagome was ready to retort about Kikyo's inappropriate etiquette towards her as the princess (mainly referring to her as a 'job') when Sango came quickly into the range, panting heavily.

"Princess Kagome," she said, trying to catch her breath. "There has been another message from Prince Inuyasha."

"No," Kikyo jumped in, swinging her arm in front of Sango as a means to stop her from approaching the princess any further. "The princess is attending archery right now; there will be time to receive frivolous messages later."

"Forgive me, Miss Kikyo," Sango said respectfully. Her own lessons from the highly skilled archer Kikyo may have ended years ago, but she still referred to her as a student would a teacher. "But this message is of some urgency and importance. I think the princess may be pressed to hear it as soon as possible."

"Sango's right," Princess Kagome jumped in, dropping her bow and quiver to the ground. There had never been an urgent message from the prince before, and she was eager to hear it, though mostly she wanted to be out of Kikyo's company. Something seemed to have put her in a worse mood than usual. "I'll hear the message now."

"Your Grace, your lessons are just as important—"

"It's one skipped lesson, Kikyo," Kagome insisted, pulling Sango by the elbow and dragging her out of the range. "One miss isn't going to do any harm."

Kikyo watched as the two younger girls left the archery range, her temper prickling at being rebuked so hastily by the princess. Her eyes fixated on the Sacred Jewel held high in Kagome's tiara and she let out a long, hissing breath between her teeth.

"It is one thing to be lax in your lessons, dear Princess," she muttered aloud to the empty range. "It's quite another to ignore your duties to the Realm."

* * *

"My Lord, if you will," Naraku snapped, slamming his palms down on the table in front of the prince's seat. "Your scholarly education is just as important as your weapons training; it'll do you good to _pay attention_."

"Oh, come off it, Naraku," Prince Inuyasha replied lazily, leaning back in his chair and showing not the slightest amount of trepidation at Naraku's threatening tone. "My lot in life is to marry and protect some princess with a special Jewel. I can only do her good if I can protect her with my claws and sword, not bore her and her enemies to death with lousy histories and sciences."

Naraku shook his head in disgust. "You are a disgrace to this kingdom, yourself, and your father, Prince."

"Hey, I'm only saying!" Inuyasha insisted. "This should be Sesshomaru's job to learn all this stuff. He'd actually benefit from it."

"Yes, he's much more responsible and mature than you," Naraku agreed nastily, shoving an open textbook towards the prince across the table. "The people in this land should be grateful to have him as Crown Prince and not you."

"As am I, believe me." He pushed against Naraku's persistent book and stood from the table. "If this is what it takes to be Crown Prince, then I know as well as everybody else I'm better off marrying some flighty girl in charge of some fancy jewelry."

"And a fine husband and protector you'll make, Your Majesty," Naraku addressed his retreating figure, "If you don't even know the power of the thing you're sworn to protect."

Finally, with his hand on the door handle, the prince stopped. "Whattaya mean?" he demanded suspiciously. "This Princess Kagome, is she like some kind of witch?"

"Not the girl," his instructor barked impatiently. "Princess Kagome is only human. I'm referring to the Sacred Jewel, of course."

"What about it?"

"That Jewel is the most powerful thing among humans and yōkai alike," Naraku explained, leaning back in his chair triumphantly as he finally got his reluctant, disruptive pupil to listen. "It can create and destroy worlds, it can level and rebuild cities within an hour, and it can bring incomparable, conquering dominance to anyone who makes the right wish."

"So why is it in the hands of some weak human girl?" Prince Inuyasha asked incredulously. "If you ask me, a thing like that should be in the Land of Yōkai, under the protection of Mushin or Totosai."

"Well, it's a very good thing no one asks you, my Lord. Your ignorance is astounding." Ignoring the prince's incensed growl, Naraku continued, "Princess Kagome was born to be the Jewel's protector, just as she was born into the monarchy of Miko's Realm."

"So you're saying that she happened upon the job by chance," Inuyasha jumped in, "Like how she just happened to be born the princess."

"We'll be stuck in this lesson for eternity if you keep interrupting, Prince Inuyasha," Naraku informed him disdainfully, "With all the respect a lowly servant such as myself can possibly profess, I kindly ask you to shut up so that I may finish."

Prince Inuyasha huffed, but obeyed. Power was something he could respect, and if he was going to be in that close of proximity to the most powerful thing in the universe, then the least he could do was figure out how to use it.

"The princess is in possession of the Sacred Jewel for a reason. A very, very, _dreadfully_ important reason: the Jewel, harnessing that much power, is in a constant state of unrest. Only a human's pure and wholly natural heart could ever possibly hope to restore balance to such a destructive, tempestuous object."

"I still don't get it," Inuyasha interjected again, much to Naraku's annoyance. "A yōkai would be the only being competent enough to put such an impressive power to good use. The Jewel serves no purpose in the hands of a frail human."

"You should do well to be more considerate of humans, my Prince," Naraku warned drolly, "Since you are half of one yourself."

"That doesn't mean anything," Inuyasha dismissed excitedly. "This Jewel is going to be in my household pretty soon, and I'll be able to use it to become the most yōkai ruler this Land has ever known, half-human or not."

"Haven't you been listening, you witless prince?" Naraku hissed, jumping to his feet and getting nose-to-nose with Inuyasha. "This Jewel must not be used in such way, least of all by you! Your duty is to protect Princess Kagome from those who seek to use the Sacred Jewel with intentions such as your own!

"The Sacred Jewel has incomprehensible power," he continued, turning his back to the prince, his eyes glinting with some unsettling, hidden emotion. "You would have no idea how to wield it. It would destroy you."

"No, it wouldn't! I'm strong enough to handle some magical pearl," Inuyasha scoffed. "But whatever," he resumed is walk to the doorway, having had his fill of lessons for one day, "I'll do my duty, protect the princess, yadda-yadda. The 'precious' Jewel will be safe from all who seek to use it for evil, I promise." He was mocking Naraku now, waving his hand around grandly for emphasis. He opened the door. "No need to get your underwear in a knot," he muttered under his breath as he slipped from the study room. "Geez. . ."

Naraku kept his back turned to the door and rolled his eyes as it clicked shut behind the prince. Prince Inuyasha was worryingly ignorant about the Sacred Jewel, an object that would soon be within his grasp with the uniting marriage between him and Princess Kagome in five weeks. Naraku shuddered to think the chaotic fate certain to take hold of both the Land of Yōkai and Miko's Realm with the union of the two young and inexperienced monarchs.

Sighing, he sat down at his desk and reached for his quill. He needed to write a letter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Three

Miroku returned late the next afternoon and immediately sought an audience with the king. Inu no Taisho saw him in the drawing room, and the young monk entered to see the king hunched over a map of the Land of Yōkai, studying the border between the farthest town and the uncharted wilderness.

"Your Majesty," Miroku ventured, taking a few steps toward the intently hunched form of the king and bowing his head slightly in a respectful nod. "I apologize for bothering you, but I have a matter of some importance to discuss with you."

"Nonsense, Miroku," King Inu no Taisho boomed cheerfully, "I'll always have time for my personal assistant! What is so important that you need me to hear?"

"Well," Miroku floundered, trying to figure out how best to present his predicament, "I seek your counsel, actually, my Lord. There seems to be a problem with . . . with Princess Kagome."

"Problem?" Inu no Taisho barked, suddenly alert and demanding. "What problem? What's the matter with the girl?"

"Her recent manner worries me, King," Miroku said solemnly, ducking his head for the added melodramatic flair. "She seems to be, rightly so, if I may say, deeply unsatisfied with your son's . . . less than enthusiastic attitude towards their betrothal."

Sighing exasperatedly, King Inu no Taisho rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of course," he muttered impatiently. "Inuyasha has always regarded his duty in this treaty with some carelessness."

"He has," Miroku agreed quickly, abandoning all support for the prince he was raised alongside since he was nine years old. "I fear the princess may come down with a case of cold feet before these five weeks are out."

"We have a contract!" Inu no Taisho declared indignantly. Miroku stifled a smile; his words had just the proper effect on the king as he'd hoped: the monarch was desperate to honor his word and oath with King Higurashi. "We can't have the girl running away foolishly because of some trifling pre-wedding nerves!"

Miroku nodded fervently, silently boasting to himself about his clearly magnificent acting ability. "You see my conflict, Your Highness," he mourned. "My reassurances seem to have done little to sway the princess, and I have exhausted the last of my tactics regarding the manner."

"Well, we can't have this," the king mused in consternation to himself. "Something has to be done immediately, Miroku."

Miroku nodded again. "If only the wedding wasn't five weeks away," he lamented, giving the king one last subconscious nudge in the direction he wanted him to go.

The king grumbled in agreement, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He took some time to think, then turned to Miroku and announced grandly, "Well, the wedding date may not be able to be moved, but that doesn't mean the princess has to wait five weeks to meet her future husband!"

Triumph pounded in Miroku's heart as he questioned, "My Lord?"

"If the princess is so inclined to lose interest with her wedding date pending, perhaps she would be much persuaded to control her nerves with the support of her husband-to-be." King Inu no Taisho planted his fist firmly in the palm of his other hand victoriously, proud of his plan. "Then it's decided! Miroku, you will be sent back to Miko's Realm before the week is out. With you will be plenty of carriages and pageboys, as many as will suit the princess's desire. When you return, I expect Princess Kagome and her company at your side."

Miroku grinned, feeling just as victorious as the king. "Yes, sir."

"Now go, meet with Inuyasha. He'll need fair warning of his . . . _whimsical_ . . . future bride's hurried arrival. Perhaps he'll feel pressed to be more sincere in light of the manner. See if you can get him to send his regards once more."

Miroku nodded once as he took his leave of the drawing room. "Yes, sir," he repeated, bowing again before the door shut after him.

* * *

Inuyasha was sitting high in his favorite tree, enjoying one of his favorite pastimes of being late to his history lessons. Of course, his antics were certain to put Naraku in a worse mood than usual when he finally caught up with the prince, but sometimes it was just worth it to push an already disagreeable person passed what they could handle. Inuyasha tensed involuntarily as he heard approaching footsteps, but relaxed as soon as he heard the telltale jingling of the shakujō's rings and smelled the familiar scent of his long-time best friend, Miroku.

"Oi!" Inuyasha greeted loudly as he jumped down suddenly in front of the advancing monk. "What's going on, Miroku? I've been waiting for you all day!"

"Forgive me, Prince," Miroku said hurriedly, not even blinking an eye at Inuyasha's signature, abrupt appearance. "I've only just returned from a meeting with your father."

"Seeing Dad, eh? So what's got my old man frustrated today?"

"It has to do with you, actually, my Lord," Miroku informed him, turning from him and quickly marching back to the castle.

Enticed by Miroku's statement, Inuyasha followed after him hastily. "What do you mean? Did he talk with Naraku? Because that grumpy old teacher was totally asking for it!" Miroku shook his head, though this went unnoticed by the ranting prince. "I mean, it's not like I even did anything _bad_ to him, I just got tired of being in the same room with him. You know how he is, Miroku, the guy's constantly in a bad mood."

"No, Prince, Naraku didn't speak with you father!" Miroku proclaimed loudly over Inuyasha's rambles. "The king was much more concerned with a more pressing matter."

"Oh," Prince Inuyasha said lamely, pausing momentarily in his pursuit of the determined monk. "Well what's the matter, then? I haven't done anything wrong—lately." He resumed following Miroku, keeping one step behind him.

Miroku paused for just a moment as they entered the castle's opening gate. "I am to return to Miko's Realm before the week is out," he informed Inuyasha before continuing his fast pace towards the Monastery.

"Already? But you just got back!"

"Your father wishes to have Princess Kagome sent for to spend the last month before her wedding in the comforting company of her future husband—_you_," Miroku sent the prince a pointed look as he emphasized.

Inuyasha paled momentarily before pushing for more information with a reignited fervor. "Why? That's too much time to . . . I mean, what am I supposed to do with her?"

Losing the last of his patience, Miroku stopped abruptly and turned to face the prince. "You cannot be serious, my young Prince!" he admonished incredulously, "In five weeks' time the two of you are to be wed!"

"I know!" Inuyasha clamored to defend himself. "But it's not a big deal, right? I just got to protect her and that stupid Sacred Jewel, _right_?" His demands for reassurance grew as his confidence slipped a little.

Miroku rolled his eyes and took hold of Prince Inuyasha's shoulders in a brotherly, yet stern embrace. "You are marrying Princess Kagome," he told the prince seriously. "That means certain things are expected of you."

"What things?" Inuyasha hedged, unnerved by Miroku's uncharacteristic solemnity.

"Great things," Miroku warned. Perhaps he was being a tad melodramatic again, but it was high-time the prince grasped what exactly accompanied this union. "This wedding not only proclaims you as the princess's and the Jewel's protector, but it also proclaims the union of the Land of Yōkai and Miko's Realm. Such a treaty between yōkai and humans has not been heard of for some several thousand generations. You will be expected to present both kingdoms with a marriage of strength, unity, and support.

"Yes, you will protect and guard Princess Kagome and the Sacred Jewel, but the two of you will also be faced with protecting the people of both kingdoms, human and yōkai alike; you will be tasked with harnessing the immense power of the Jewel, and utilizing it for the safety of the worlds you will be in charge of. _Millions_ of citizens, men, women, children, will look to you for security and welfare."

"Okay. . ." Prince Inuyasha fought to keep his head above water amidst this overwhelming wave of information he'd disregarded for three years.

"It's not just your diplomatic duties either, Your Majesty," Miroku continued, straightening up and holding his shakujō firmly, playing up his grave demeanor. "There are your marital duties as well."

Inuyasha looked at him warily, almost afraid of Miroku continuing down this new path of guidance.

"Your marriage to Princess Kagome is symbolic of the union between the nations," Miroku went on, eyeing him almost lewdly. "I trust you understand what that means?"

Hesitantly, Prince Inuyasha nodded, still guarded against the inevitable perversion certain to appear as the monk persisted.

Miroku mirrored his nod, as if to show the prince assurance. "Your union with the princess should be peaceful, confident, and happy," he informed him, "setting an example of how the citizens of the two kingdoms should treat each other. Your marriage should exemplify a certain measure of respect, dedication, and love." Bending slightly to accommodate the small difference in height, Miroku leaned in closely and held Inuyasha's stare intently. "You will be expected to produce future heirs with the princess."

A fiery blush flamed across Inuyasha's face as he stumbled backwards from Miroku's uneasy proximity. Catching himself and straightening up imposingly, he stared after Miroku irately as the monk excused himself.

"By your leave, Prince," Miroku dismissed himself, bowing slightly as he turned. "I must return to the Monastery to take care of some last-minute business before I'm to leave again." He halted momentarily. "And perhaps I should send a preceding letter," he mused to himself thoughtfully, "It must be uncomely to return so suddenly and unexpectedly."

"I can do it, you know!" Prince Inuyasha called after him aggressively.

Grinning briefly, Miroku turned back to the prince respectfully. "Your Grace?"

"I can do it," Inuyasha repeated, sound more confident and princely the second time, "I will do all that is expected of me."

Miroku offered a full grin to him now, bowing again in renewed reverence for the young prince whom he'd developed a brotherly fondness. "I know."

* * *

"Oh, Sango, to think that just last week I contemplated running away from it all!" Princess Kagome said wistfully as she watched her handmaiden struggle to fit an assortment of her favorite gowns in her third trunk.

"Yes, my Lady," Sango agreed, wiping the beaded sweat on her forehead away with her forearm. "It does all seem too good to be true." When Miroku had returned two days ago proclaiming the princess's hasty call to the castle in the Land of Yōkai, he'd slipped her an arrogant wink, gloating about fulfilling his promise to her. And, in all honesty, it did seem unbelievable, so much so that she cornered him after showing him to his temporary quarters and demanded to know how he did it. Somewhere between his clever, diverting quips and convincing her to spend the night in his bed, she'd never managed to find out.

Kagome sighed and leaned back into her pillows, braiding and unbraiding her hair coquettishly. "I finally get to see him," she whispered to herself, "I get to spend time with him, talk with him, be with him. . ."

Sango's answer was much more hesitant this time, though the princess didn't seem to notice. Just because Miroku had somehow managed to convince Inuyasha to send for her company didn't mean that his personality had changed any. Trepidation filled Sango at the aspect of Kagome meeting Inuyasha for the first time; she was certain to be less than impressed with the cantankerous prince. Perhaps it was too soon for the princess to rule out running away completely.

Putting all her weight against the trunk's resisting lid, Sango finally manage to secure the lock. "There," she said tiredly, proud of her exhausting work of getting the princess packed, "it's finished, Your Majesty. You're all set for the next month and then some."

"Perfect!" Princess Kagome jumped up from her bed and threw her arms around Sango's shoulders. "You do so much for me, Sango; you should take the rest of the day off! Lord knows I'll need you to well-rested for our stay in the Land of Yōkai."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Sango replied gratefully, regretting the fact that packing the princess had left her little time to pack herself. It seemed that her much-needed time off would be filled with work after all. There was a knock at the door and Sango went to it, placing her hand at the ready on the knob and calling out, "Yes?"

"Sister?" replied the fourteen-year-old boy on the other side—Sango's younger brother Kohaku. "Miss Kikyo calls for the princess; she's adamant she get in another lesson before you leave tomorrow for your trip."

"Ugh!" Kagome sighed disdainfully and opened the door herself, revealing the thin yet athletic-looking Kohaku on the other side. "Alright, Kohaku, I'm coming. Let Kikyo know, will you? I'll be just a few minutes."

Kohaku nodded dutifully and ran back down the corridor. Kagome turned back towards Sango and put her finger to her lips, giving her a mischievous wink.

"I'm going to take the longest route to the range possible. The longer I take, the shorter the lesson." She rolled her eyes, complaining over her shoulder as she left, "Kikyo's been in a sour mood for days; it'll be nice to have an entire month away from her!"

Smiling softly at the princess's reluctance, Sango left the princess's room and headed next door to her own quarters, dreading the amount of packing a month-long trip guaranteed. At least she wouldn't have near as much to pack as the princess did. Pulling her trunk out and hefting it to lay open on her bed she turned towards her wardrobe, scratching her forearm absentmindedly as she stared at her limited collection of clothes. Surely the Land of Yōkai required lavish clothing, opulent colors, and fine jewelry, yet everything in her closet was all in shades of black, brown, and tan, the design plain and simple. She didn't own a single piece of jewelry.

She sighed and moved to sit on the edge of her bed, still staring dejectedly at her closet. She cursed her practicality and reserved nature; she'd never thought that she'd actually regret her disregard towards appearances. She suddenly felt very foolish and childish for lamenting her lack of femininity. Miroku had always thought she was beautiful, and was always quick to tell her so, yet somehow, now, it didn't feel like enough. The first time she'd met King Inu no Taisho, she'd left a good impression, and it suddenly occurred to her how important she felt it was to uphold that impression. For the first time in her life, Sango felt vaguely inadequate.

A soft knock at the door startled her from her depressing train of thought and Sango let out a small sigh again. Kohaku had been sticking closer to her side than normal ever since Miroku had returned with the Royal Invitation. It had bothered her to the point that she'd managed to make him a part of the princess's company so they wouldn't be separated for such a long time, though something about his behavior towards Miroku in particular made her wary. He couldn't possibly know of their relationship, but Sango wouldn't put it passed him to be suspicious of something.

"Kohaku, I'm busy," she called through the door as she went to open it. "If I don't get this done now, I'll never be ready to leave by—oh!" She cut herself off in surprise as she swung the door open to reveal that the person on the other side was not her little brother.

"Were you expecting your brother?" Miroku asked with a keen interest, tapping the ornament of his shakujō idly against the doorframe. "I could fetch him for you if you'd like."

"N-no," Sango stuttered, feeling as her cheeks heated up in a faint blush. It was an uncomfortable coincidence to have Miroku show up at her door just as she'd questioned their ability to keep their relationship a secret. Then she remembered something: "Wait a minute," she asked, forgetting about her mild embarrassment and becoming abruptly curious, "How did you know where my chambers are? You've never been to this part of the castle."

"Hmm," Miroku mused teasingly, playing with the short lock of hair that hung in front of her ear. He stepped closer to her intimately, pressing their chests together before she had a chance to back away. "That's for me to know," he informed her haughtily, dipping down to hungrily capture her lips with his briefly, "And for you to never find out." He bent to kiss her again wantonly, ignoring Sango's small hands pushing against his chest defiantly.

"Mmm! Miroku!" she struggled to protest between his demanding and passionate kisses. "Miroku, at—mmph!—at least wait until—mm!—until the door is closed!" Successfully pulling her face away from his she leaned around him and cast a panicked eye down the corridor, verifying its emptiness before grabbing the front of his robes, pulling him inside her room and locking the door securely shut behind them.

Miroku hardly waited for her to turn from the door to face him again before he pounced on her anew, pushing her against the door lustfully with his body and giving her wandering wet kisses down from her lips to her jaw, neck and earlobe. "You are far too great a temptation, my love; I could never hope to withstand my insatiable appetite for everything your love offers me." His hands began to wander with a ferocious covetousness before he suddenly scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the bed.

He kicked the opened and waiting trunk off her bed carelessly and gently tossed Sango down on the cushions playfully in its spot, hurriedly climbing on after her and straddling her possessively, continuing to ignore her indignant protests.

"Miroku!" Sango said sternly, pushing back on his shoulders and keeping their mouths from connecting. "I don't have time for this now, I have to pack!"

Miroku shook his head insistently and tried to pull her hands away from his shoulders. "No, no, darling, it's alright. I'll help you pack later." He actually whined disappointedly when she managed to keep him from kissing her and finally acquiesced part way, sitting back yet keeping her legs trapped beneath his. Holding her by the waist in an effort to keep her steady while she struggled to wiggle herself out from underneath him, he asked, "Sango, why are you doing this? After tonight it'll be a very long time before we'll be able to be together like this."

Something in his words made a switch click in Sango's brain as she suddenly realized the truthfulness of his statement. She stopped struggling and simply stared at him for a little while, trying to sort out rationality from upset. Miroku held her gaze attentively while an intuitive clue bubbled inside him as he started to understand exactly what had caused Sango's mood to flip so quickly.

"Sango," he prompted softly, his thumbs massaging gentle circles against her stomach.

Sango finally let out a depressed and heavy sigh, moving her own hands to rest on top of his, going through the motions of pulling his hands away, yet never fully acting on her intent. "Miroku. . . " she whispered mournfully, then shook her head, trying to make her voice sound more commanding as she repeated, "I have to pack." Neither of them moved.

"Sango. . ." Miroku urged more sternly now, wanting to get to the bottom of this so he would be able to continue his escapade he'd started at the door.

"We'll be able to see each other for a full month," Sango finally burst out, her hands flying to the front of his robes which she gripped tightly for support. "And all of the sudden that doesn't seem like enough!"

"Why not?" Miroku asked patiently, holding her cheek with his bandaged right hand.

"Because. . ." she broke off and sniffed in an effort to keep her tears from falling. "Because after that month is over, where does that leave us? The princess will be married to Prince Inuyasha and my job as her Lady-in-Waiting and guardian ceases. I'll return to Miko's Realm, and you'll never again have reason to visit." She sighed and lowered her hands, feeling even more foolish then before. "I guess I never realized that we'd have to end this." Laughing humorlessly, she finished, "I'm sorry I made a scene. I should have known sooner."

Miroku listened to her short rant with a kind level of tolerance. He mulled over her words thoughtfully, taking note of her upset without the slightest bit of surprise. Everything she'd seemingly realized was to be expected, and truth be told, he had been waiting for her to confront him about it since he'd first returned to the Realm. Finally, he took her face in both his hands and kissed her fully and confidently.

"Who said anything about ending?" he asked when he ended the kiss at last. "I have no intentions of letting this end."

"Miroku," Sango responded with her usual sensibleness, "It doesn't work out. We can't possibly make this work; it's too great of a distance, even for us."

"Well, who said there had to be distance? You could stay in the Land of Yōkai, with me."

"I have no reason to stay there. My brother—my only family—is here," she explained emphatically, confused as to why she had to clarify what should've been evident.

"Kohaku could remain there too. I know a young girl in training at the Monastery I think he'd be very interested in knowing," Miroku winked, moving in for another kiss. "And as for you, I should think that I would be sufficient reason enough for you to stay."

Sango remained level-headed, though her irritation at Miroku for apparently making this more difficult than it needed to be hardened her edge. "Miroku," she said tersely, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Miroku smirked arrogantly as he dug around in one of the pockets of his robes, keeping his hand in a fist when he withdrew it to keep what he held concealed. "I'm not doing anything to you, my dear," he informed her smartly. "I only thought you would've got the hint by now." He opened his hand and showed her what he held inside: a ring, silver banded set with an impressively sized diamond-cut pink gemstone.

Sango could only stare open-mouthed at the ring sitting expectantly in his palm before her eyes flicked up to meet his and she continued to gaze dumbly at his smiling and loving features.

"I told you I had no intentions of letting this end," Miroku told her teasingly, though his tone was filled with love and sincerity. He took hold of her left hand gently and moved the ring to the proper finger, leaving it to hover tantalizingly just above her fingernail as his eyes met hers again with anticipation burning inside them. "Please," he requested simply and quietly, giving her a look like she'd never quite seen on him before.

She took another moment before answering, collecting her thoughts and trying not to get lost in his pleading and adoring blue-violet eyes. "Y-yes," she finally gasped shyly, and Miroku smiled and started to slip the ring on before she stopped him unexpectedly, "I-I mean, I don't know. . ." She sighed, showing her own confusion as Miroku's startled look melted to one of questioning. "What I mean is," she explained slowly, "I'm just not certain if we. . . Well, _can_ you even get married, Miroku?"

Taken aback, Miroku let out a surprised laugh. "I'm twenty-four years old, Sango. I do think I am old enough."

"It's not that," Sango retorted with some exasperation. "I meant . . . because you're a monk, are you allowed to marry?"

Miroku's eyes softened as he moved closer to Sango, forcing her to lie back on her bed as he leaned down over her, reclaiming his tender grasp on her hand. "I am your lover before I am anything else," he assured her gently, letting the tips of their noses touch as he moved his face closer to hers. "And if you will marry me, I shall be your husband first and foremost." When Sango still appeared to be fighting her doubt, he continued more seriously, "I have thought about this for a long time, Sango. I don't want to let you go just because our duties as representatives are fulfilled. I love you, my dearest, more than I ever thought possible. Let me spend my life with you."

Tears lined Sango's eyes at his confession, though her stubbornness still refused to let them fall. "I love you, too," she whispered. Closing her eyes, she accepted his passionate and slow kiss, smiling against his lips. "And yes," she added, snatching the ring away from him and sliding on her own finger and waving it in his face proudly, "I think I will marry you." She gave him a mischievous grin and pulled him back down for another overzealous kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly when he moved to pull away.

"My," Miroku mumbled between kisses as they fleetingly parted for air. "My dear Sango, I thought you had packing to do." His nimble fingers had already shed her of her belt and were working at the small buttons on her vest.

Sango snickered as she slowly slid his outer robe down his shoulders. "It can wait. Besides, my fiancé can help me later."

* * *

Kikyo sighed in irritation as she tore another arrow from the target. There were a dismal number of arrows that were horribly far from the center of the target, and now that the princess was leaving for a month, only briefly returning, then running off to get married, there was an even slimmer chance of her aim improving.

If only Princess Kagome had put more effort and focus into her archery. Kikyo had little hope for the protection of the Sacred Jewel, being left in the hands of a clumsy, head-strong princess and an arrogant and showy prince. Her hand dug around in the front pocket of her apron, fingering the over-read and well-worn letter than lay folded inside. She yanked the last of the arrows from the target and put them back inside their quiver, leaning against the doorway of the archery range and pulling the letter out to read it yet again. It'd been unfolded and re-folded so many times with uncountable readings the creases now ran deep through the canvas-like paper.

_My Dearest Kikyo,_

_It fills me with great trepidation that I must write under disquieting circumstances. However,_

_I am pressed that you must know of the unsettling position I now find myself in. As you know,_

_the wedding that unites our two nations quickly approaches, and with it, a new dawn for the_

_Sacred Jewel. I'm certain that you join me in doubting the welfare and fate of kingdoms in the _

_hands of such young and inexperienced youths. We've discussed the matter before, though I_

_now feel an unyielding desire to move to action as soon as we are able. The Jewel belongs _

_under your protection, and I can only see hope for the nations if you are allowed your ancestral_

_right. I am also certain that you are aware that I am the only one who is qualified to help you_

_in such an endeavor. I swear my allegiance to you, dear Kikyo, and I pray you place your _

_trust in me. My only wish is to fulfill the monarchs' desires for peace and safety in our world,_

_and it is stressing that I must act on my own to acquire their dream. However, we must disregard _

_our servitude to our respective kingdoms if we are to truly free ourselves and the nations from _

_such a cataclysmic future that this marriage and union will surely bring. Our time runs thin, Kikyo,_

_and I fear the opportunity will take her leave of us soon. I plead with you to send your answer in _

_haste, and I will be waiting in eagerness._

_ Your Humble Friend and Ally,_

_ Naraku _


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Four

_My Honorable Naraku,_

_ I cannot say much for there is little time to write. I will send this letter in haste, though_

_ I cannot know if this will reach you in time. Nevertheless, as I am sure you are aware, _

_ Prince Inuyasha has sent for the princess a month early. I fear what precious little time _

_ we did have is now cut drastically. I must say my intentions before the princess's _

_ company leaves at midday in a last effort to ensure this letter is in your hands before they_

_ arrive. As you say, it is my ancestral right that I serve as the Sacred Jewel's protector,_

_ though my desire to serve as such only derives from the doubt of its security in the hands_

_ of unaccomplished, unlearned youths rather than one of selfishness. I take comfort in your_

_ allegiance, my dear friend, as I am certain that I cannot do it alone. In closing, I wish it be _

_ known that I shall make my own trek to the Land of Yōkai as soon as I am able. Expect me_

_ no less than three days after the arrival of the princess._

_ For the first time in three years, there burns a flame of hope for our nations within me yet._

_ With Hope and Earnest,_

_ Kikyo_

Naraku received the letter one hour before the announcement of Princess Kagome's company into the Land of Yōkai. He could not help his urge to smile with resurging hope as well, anticipating the great moment when Kikyo arrived. From there, he could take matters into his own hands, preventing a bleak fate for their nations from ever coming to pass. He felt strong and intense with suspense for his plan to spring into action, as if the approaching power of the Sacred Jewel was cementing in his heart the knowledge of its true protector. As Kikyo herself proclaimed, for the first time in three long years, Naraku likewise felt the pressure of living in tumultuous times was quickly drawing to a close. Soon the welfare of the nations would be in his qualified, competent hands.

* * *

Prince Inuyasha tugged at the sleeves of his outer robe uncomfortably. He wasn't used to wearing so many layers, especially when his princely robes were combined with the ceremonial cape his parents forced him to wear. Sweat was beginning to bead around the stiff and scratchy neckline of his robes and he pulled at his collar in annoyance, his claws itching viciously at the irritated skin. There was a sharp tap on the back of his head, and he turned to see his mother, Queen Izayoi, giving him a scolding look. She raised a finger to her lips, silently shushing his fidgety behavior. Huffing, Inuyasha turned to face forward again, scowling at the impressive opening gate of the castle, whose guards waited expectantly at the chains, listening for the trumpeted arrival of Princess Kagome and her company.

Nervousness percolated in Prince Inuyasha's stomach, though he did his best to ignore it, and he hadn't confided in anyone the stress he felt about his impending marriage since Miroku had bluntly informed him of the seriousness of his duties and all that everyone expected of him. He still had confidence in himself, and still believed in his own declaration of being ready for the challenge, though he had to admit that he missed the blissful ignorance he'd lived in for the past three years. Everything suddenly seemed so real and tangible, and having the princess here a month before their wedding wasn't making him feel any better.

Golden eyes scanning the lavish procession waiting the princess, Inuyasha strained his dog ears, using his enhanced hearing to try to distinguish the hushed excitement of the crowd from the approaching Royal Carriage, wanting a little more of a warning than a few stupid trumpet blasts.

"Relax a little, boy," his father muttered teasingly behind him, "She'll get here when she gets here."

Prince Inuyasha huffed again, tugging on his collar. "I still don't understand why she has to come so early," he replied under his breath, eyes still scanning and ears still straining.

"Come now, brother," his older half-brother Sesshomaru said mockingly from his left, "Surely you'll want to know the girl before you marry her. It'll be nice to see what you'll have to wake up to every morning for the rest of your life."

"Sesshomaru!" Queen Izayoi reproached quietly. To Inuyasha she said, "Don't listen to him, my son."

"Yeah," Inuyasha shot back to Sesshomaru. "I bet you're just jealous that no princess wants to marry you."

Sesshomaru smirked. "Hardly. Why would I want to settle for some human bride anyway?" He shot his step-mother a pointed look out of the corner of his eye. He had no ill will towards the current queen, though it had been difficult for him to understand why his father had divorced his first wife, Sesshomaru's mother—a yōkai—for some human woman. Sesshomaru was a solitary man, and having humans around only meant people who were in need of his protection.

Prince Inuyasha's retort was lost amidst the sudden blaring of the trumpeters. He paled slightly and hastily turned back to the opening gate with widened eyes. Arguing with his brother had distracted him from listening ahead for the princess's carriage and the nervousness churned inside him nauseatingly. He had felt very unprepared for this moment and being caught off-guard with her arrival wasn't making his predicament any easier to swallow. For the first time it hit him that he'd have to talk with Princess Kagome, to spend time with her, to be her companion during her stay. It wasn't only about his protection and duties regarding their union anymore. He would have to get to know her, as a person.

The prince gulped unseemly as the horses were reined and the carriage slowly pulled to a stop. He wasn't nearly as solitary as his half-brother, but he wasn't exactly known for his friendliness and sociability either. He was quick to tire of most conversations, and he had never been one to go out of his way to talk to women, except for his mother. On the carriage, Miroku had jumped down from his post next to the driver and walked back to open the door to reveal the princess. Inuyasha chewed his lip, finally showing a small sign of his tension. He was, for the first time, about to set eyes on the woman that would become both his wife and his life-long duty. Was it normal for is heart to pound so deafeningly?

The monk seemed to the anxiety-ridden prince to be moving in slow motion, but finally the carriage door was open all the way and a woman stepped out. Inuyasha couldn't help but frown a little in confusing surprise. This girl was pretty enough, he supposed, but her plain black dress and lack of luminous jewelry made her seem much duller than he'd imagined a princess to look. She wasn't even wearing a crown or anything. Her lack of opulence made Inuyasha jealous of her much more comfortable attire and even more disgruntled in his own royal apparel at the same time. Then she stepped to the side of the door, standing opposite of Miroku and raised her hand, palm facing up. She wasn't the princess, Inuyasha realized, and the procession roared in customary celebration as Princess Kagome took the waiting, assisting hands of the first girl and Miroku and finally stepped down from the carriage.

Now this girl looked like a princess, immaculately so. Her dress was full and brightly colored; the purple and green hues complimented her pale skin. Her fingers, wrists, neck, and ears shone with sparkling jewels, and Inuyasha caught the distinctly pink flash of what was surely the Sacred Jewel set into the thin silvery tiara glinting atop her head proudly. Her hair was pitch-black and thick, pulled elegantly on the top of her head in a flawless bun, completing her polished, royal look. His sharpened eyesight absorbed every detail of her face, notwithstanding the great distance between them, studying her feminine eyes, her small nose, and her red-painted lips. Suddenly, all of Prince Inuyasha's prior anxieties and nervous feelings melted away entirely in the face of a new concern: Princess Kagome was absolutely beautiful.

She disappeared from is sight as she stepped down completely from the carriage, vanishing into the throng blocking Inuyasha's view as she made her way towards the castle steps.

"Control yourself, brother," Sesshomaru muttered haughtily from his side, "You wouldn't want to greet her with your jaw touching the floor, would you?"

Scowling, Inuyasha closed his mouth firmly and discreetly clenched his teeth to keep it from opening dumbly without his knowledge again. His mind was too preoccupied to come up with a snappy retort for Sesshomaru and he settled for remaining silent, focusing on the spot in the crowd where he was certain Princess Kagome would be in is line of sight again.

* * *

"Sango," Princess Kagome mumbled to her handmaiden walking dutifully beside her, trying to keep from being overheard by the escorting monk just a few steps ahead of them.

"Yes, my Lady?"

"I didn't get a chance to look at the prince. Did you see him? Is he handsome?"

"I did see him, briefly," Sango confirmed with a slight nod. "He was quite a ways away, but he did appear to be handsome, yes." She felt very foolish complimenting another man for his looks when her newly-engaged fiancé walked but a short distance in front of her and subsequently tried to keep her voice low as well.

Kagome sighed in relief. "I knew it," she whispered. She tried to peak above the heads of the procession, but she wasn't going to get a good look of the Royal Family without jumping a little, and such an act might attract the wrong kind of attention. She glanced around quickly before commenting to Sango, "It feels as though we are moving so slow. Does it feel that way to you?"

Before Sango could reply the monk in front of them stopped and turned to the princess and her Lady-in-Waiting bowing slightly as he swept a hand out grandly.

"Princess," Miroku said, keeping his head lowered, "May I present to you the Royal Family of the Land of Yōkai: King Inu no Taisho, his Queen Izayoi, the Crown Prince Sesshomaru, and the young Prince Inuyasha." Addressing the Royal Family he said, "My Lords and Lady, may I present Crown Princess Kagome of Miko's Realm, with her most honored Lady-in-Waiting Sango." He gave Sango an undetected wink and Sango let the corner of her mouth tilt upwards in the shadow of a smile.

"My Lords and Lady," Kagome said grandly, sweeping into an elegant curtsy, "It is an honor to finally meet you."

It was improper to lose focus on her true hosts, the king and queen, but the princess couldn't help but let her gaze coquettishly slide over to the younger prince standing in front of and to the left of Queen Izayoi. He was tall, though not quite as tall as she had hoped. Still, he was quite handsome, as Sango had said. He had long, silvery hair and striking golden eyes. His robes, strangely, were not the ceremonial white and pastel color as his parents and older brother wore, but a deep, bold crimson, yet somehow it suited him all the more. Princess Kagome raised her eyes once more to find his golden ones staring at her hard, as if daring her to find complaint. Blushing, she quickly continued moving her eyes upwards until they settled on something that the princess immediately decided was her favorite feature on the prince: his silvery white, pointed dog ears, almost hidden in his identically colored mane, looking alert and listening intently.

"Princess Kagome," Queen Izayoi was the first to step forward and greet her, and Prince Inuyasha suddenly disappeared from her view as the queen stepped around him. "How nice it is to have you here with us."

The queen reached forward and held Kagome's hands in a warm and motherly embrace, a move that both startled and welcomed the princess simultaneously. She had heard before that the queen of the Land of Yōkai was in fact not a yōkai herself, though Kagome had always imagined that a human lording over the Yōkaites would have to be as brusque and intimidating as the yōkai themselves. Yet Queen Izayoi struck Princess Kagome as incredibly kind and gentle, soft-spoken, yet somehow demanding her own presence among such great yōkai as King Inu no Taisho and Crowned Prince Sesshomaru.

"Indeed, My Lady," Kagome addressed the queen again, bowing her head courteously as her hands were still held in the queen's, "I am most obliged to be here, Queen Izayoi." She let her eyes flick back to Prince Inuyasha's flirtatiously, "It was a pleasure to receive your invitation."

Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed, as if indignant and confused at her show of affection, though he continued to remain silent as his father stepped forward to offer his own personal greeting to the princess.

"It was a pleasure to offer it, my girl," King Inu no Taisho boomed in his loud voice, throwing a casual arm around Kagome's shoulders and guiding her further up the steps to the castle. Behind the Royal Family and the princess, Sango raised her eyebrows in mild surprise at the king and queen's affectionate display. Miroku caught her look and only offered a slight grin and shrug in return. The king and queen were certainly familial and welcoming, which was more than could be said for their sons: Sesshomaru looked less than pleased and entirely bored to be here, and Inuyasha couldn't seem to manage a more pleasant face than a permanent scowl.

"Come, child," Izayoi urged gently, "We'll show you to your chambers. It was a long journey and you must be tired."

"I am, Your Majesty," Kagome agreed politely, though she cast a longing look over her shoulder at Inuyasha, who followed a few steps behind with his half-brother. She had been hoping for her betrothed to show her around the castle grounds a little before she retired for the evening.

"There'll be plenty of time to go gallivanting off privately with my son tomorrow," King Inu no Taisho winked as they continued down the long and tapestried corridor. Kagome blushed furiously as the king had somehow read her mind, and behind her, Inuyasha's face ignited in a similar fashion. "But now, as my wife says, you need plenty of rest. In three days' time, there's to be ball in honor of your arrival," he announced jovially, spreading his arms grandly for effect.

For the first time since Kagome's arrival, Inuyasha spoke up. "A _ball_?" he demanded resentfully, "How come no one told me about the ball?"

"Oh, I'm sure we've mentioned it, dear," Queen Izayoi assured him with a wave of her hand. "You'll have to formally introduce Kagome as your intended to the nation, after all."

Inuyasha's eyes bugged before he settled back into his comfortable frown. Princess Kagome noticed his less than enthused reaction at the prospect of formally announcing her as his bride in public and felt herself frowning as well. The prince didn't seem much like the image she'd built of him in her head during the three years of substituted correspondence. She hoped it was too soon to gather an accurate impression.

Princess Kagome moved about the rest of the evening automatically, responding to the king and queen without exception, giving acceptable answers and nothing more. She chose not to converse with the Ladies-in-Waiting that her hosts had appointed her, and spent a considerable amount of time staring blankly up at the ceiling after she had settled into bed for the night. There was a very uncomfortable aura here, in part because of Inuyasha's worrying behavior earlier in the afternoon and in part because of a particular man.

They had passed this man coming out of some off-shooting room on the way to Kagome's chambers. He was incredibly tall and imposing, sturdily built, his hair was long and untamed, pulled high on the top of his head. His eyes were an eerie dark shade of red and they remained focused on the Sacred Jewel mounted in her tiara rather than meeting hers when they were introduced. His name was Naraku.

It took her a very long time to fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Five

There were too many people, far more than what Rin was used to. Her duties at the Monastery kept her too busy to have any chance to see much of the kingdom outside of the castle grounds, and even then her interactions with others was limited to who bothered to drop by the Monastery on a semi-regular basis. Miroku was her favorite; he would always bring presents from the lands he'd visited recently and regale her with far-off stories of mystical princesses and fantastic warriors.

But Miroku wasn't to be seen, and as such Rin was forced to wander around the ballroom, in a dress that was a little ill-fitting and very itchy, struggling not to be trampled by all the people in their fine robes and lavishly full dresses. She tried to stick close to the entrances, though her stomach called for the refreshments and assorted pastries on the opposite side of the room. When she was unable to ignore the hunger pains any longer, Rin decided to brave the imposing throng in search of something to eat.

With her small size and thin frame, it was remarkably easier to maneuver through the mass of people than she originally thought. Using her elbows to clear a path, Rin made her way across the ballroom rather quickly, and soon enough, the refreshment table was in sight. A victorious grin playing about her lips, she stretched her small hand out, reaching for a tantalizing-looking treat sitting ready on the table's edge.

Out of nowhere, another hand reached for the same pastry, knocking hers off course. "Sorry," a voice apologized, and Rin followed the hand up the arm attached to it until she finally looked the source of the voice in the eye. A boy, teenager, it looked like, probably around her age. He was kind of tall and thin, with wild brown hair pulled into a lazy ponytail. Freckled dotted across his nose, almost disappearing behind the blush heating up his cheeks as he took in Rin's appearance: long, equally wild black hair with a small section of her thick bangs secured by a ribbon, a little shorter than him, pretty face.

"Hi," Rin said with a sweet smile. Large crowds may have overwhelmed her, though she still managed to be confident. "My name's Rin. What's yours?"

"Kohaku," the boy answered obediently. He pulled his hand away from the table and moved it up behind his head, scratching at his scalp absentmindedly. "Were you going to eat that?" he mumbled, gesturing vaguely at the pastry that they had both spied out with the arm hanging loosely at his side.

"Yes, but if you want it that's okay," Rin said immediately, taking the pastry and offering to Kohaku. "Look, I think there's more over there." She pointed to a small tray located just down the table from them.

"Thanks," Kohaku said lamely, taking the pastry. "So, um, what do you do here? I mean, are you a servant, or handmaiden, or . . . ?"

Rin giggled at his flustered shyness. "I work at the Monastery, under Lord Mushin and Miroku."

"The Monastery," Kohaku repeated. "Oh. That's . . . nice."

"Lord Mushin is very kind, and Miroku is really funny," she nodded enthusiastically. Picking up her pastry, Rin gestured back to the imposing crowd, "Well, I guess I should be going." She offered a girlish wave.

"Wait," Kohaku called after her, setting his own pastry on the table and reaching for her free arm. "Well . . . what I mean is. . ." he sighed, closing his eyes, only to open them and look away as he finally asked, "Would you like to dance?"

* * *

Sango grumbled under her breath as she tugged at the long, form-fitting sleeve of her dress. She wasn't used to being dressed so grandly. The gown was much longer than she was used to; the soft fabric hugged her curves until it billowed out at her thighs in an elegant trumpet-style train. It hung low off her shoulders with a beautiful silken wrap gathered in the front in a mock-sweetheart neckline. The powder-blue material was incredibly light and delicate, and it made Sango walk around the ballroom on pins and needles for fear of ruining such a supposedly fragile dress.

She felt very awkward parading around in a dress that didn't even belong to her, and she had no idea who had gone through the trouble of securing a gown that, from the fit, felt custom-made just for her. It didn't help that this custom-made dress was also getting her strange looks from an uncomfortable amount of men, both accompanied and not. Men had never looked at her that way before, and Sango, both as a female and as a recently engaged young woman, felt bothered by all the stares. She fingered the chain that she'd anchored her engagement ring to, which was draped backwards across her neck, with the ring more easily concealed hanging behind her, hidden by her hair.

"You know," a light and mischievous voice informed her from behind, "Usually, one tries _not_ to outshine the royalty as these types of events." His fingers skimmed briefly over the tip of a painful-looking scar poking out just beyond the cover of the silken wrap between her shoulder blades before finding the engagement ring concealed by her loosely braided hair and twiddling it between his fingers momentarily.

Sango grinned in relief and slight exasperation, turning to face her sorely-missed fiancé. She placed her hands on her hips, careful to keep the distance between them respectable. "And just what are you getting at, Monk?" she asked, her tone fair and unconcerned, though she added her own touch of impishness.

Miroku smiled at her warmly, slipping from his rogue demeanor to sincere candor comfortably. "You look absolutely ravishing, my darling," he said, reaching his bandaged right hand out to play with a strand of her soft brown locks that had fallen from the braid. "Do you like your dress?"

Blushing, Sango tucked the strand that he had been playing with behind her ear. 'Ravishing' was not a word that easily came to mind when describing herself. Choosing to only address his question, she looked at him with suspicious curiosity, though she kept her answer as seemingly innocent as his inquiry. "Yes, it's quite lovely." Curving to one of her tamer desires, she stretched her own hand out to rest on his chest under the guise of straightening his already impeccable (similarly colored) dress robes. "It is strange, though. I could've sworn that I had only packed the basics, yet when I woke this morning, I found this just lying across my trunk, as if I had simply forgotten to unpack it."

A prideful smirk flashed across Miroku's kind smile as he hummed in puzzlement. "Strange indeed," he mused, taking ahold of her hand, still lingering on his chest and used it to pull her into him.

"Miroku," Sango complained quietly, trying to pull herself away from him, "We can't, not when there are so many people around."

"Come now, dear," he said dismissively, placing her captured hand on his shoulder while he simultaneously reached for her other hand and laid his free hand on her waist. "No one of consequence would notice in a room as crowded and busy as this." He guided her fluidly, bringing her out amongst the dancing couples. "Now," he commanded gently, teasingly, "Dance with me."

Sighing, Sango acquiesced. She had never bothered with dancing before, and as such she had to rely on Miroku for more than just leading, though he didn't seem to mind. He waltzed her around the other dancers, holding her with more care and intimacy than most partners. As odd as it felt for Sango to be participating in something so unlike her, it felt extraordinarily nice to be out with Miroku as a couple in front of others, even if all they were viewed as was two partygoers enjoying a dance. Despite her earlier reluctance, Sango started to enjoy herself and relaxed into the dance, taking her hand off his shoulder to wrap it around his waist and resting her cheek to his chest.

"See? This isn't so bad, is it, my dear?" Miroku muttered gently to her. He was sweeping her from one end of the ballroom to the other, it seemed, and it was easy for Sango to get lost in the grandeur. She hummed softly in response, feeling so at peace that she could fall asleep where she stood if the situation allowed. She closed her eyes and sighed, letting her monk continue to guide her through the dances effortlessly, the smooth, soft sounds of the instruments filling her senses completely.

Miroku's hand slipped down lower on her hips and he whispered her name, urging her to open her eyes. Reluctantly Sango obliged, straightening back up to a proper dancing position in time to see where exactly Miroku's lead had brought them. She caught the gaze of King Inu no Taisho before Miroku turned them again, seeing the look of humorous suspicion in his eye.

Gasping quietly, Sango turned back to give Miroku an indignant look. "We need to be more careful, Miroku! What if he found out?"

Chuckling under his breath Miroku boldly leaned down to kiss the top of her head briefly, adding to her irritation. "Oh, he knows, dearest. There's no question about that." He shushed her before she could tell him off for how intimately they were dancing, "It wasn't the dance, Sango. He's a yōkai. He could smell the change in pheromones the second he saw us together."

Sango paled slightly. "Are we going to be in trouble?" she asked worriedly.

At this, Miroku let out a much heartier laugh. "Of course not. Why on earth would you think that?"

Frowning, Sango said, "Because of our positions in Court. You said yourself we were risking those positions by continuing our relationship. Would you lose your status in the Monastery?"

"I wouldn't think so," Miroku assured her serenely, shaking his head. He became reminiscent and continued, "King Inu no Taisho raised me alongside his sons after my father died when I was nine years old. Rather than view it as an interference with my duties, I think the king would react much like a father would when his son finds love." He laughed quietly again and nodded his head back towards the king, who was now conversing with Prince Inuyasha with Princess Kagome not too far behind. "Like how he regards the young prince now."

Sango nodded, still worried but willing herself to be comforted by Miroku's words. Not particularly wanting to dwell on the uncomfortable subject of the king being able to smell the nature of their relationship, she jerked her head back towards the prince and princess, both of whom seemed to be exceptionally irate. "What do you think they were talking about?"

Miroku peered over the top of her head to get his own look at the sour young monarchs. "I'm not quite sure. Whatever it was however, it doesn't seem to have gone over well."

King Inu no Taisho's sonorous voice drowned out Sango's reply. "My prosperous people," he announced grandly, spreading his arms wide and gesturing around to the circling crowd with welcoming hands, "I am most proud to introduce to you my youngest son," his sweeping arms swung around to guide the people's focus to his son, "Prince Inuyasha!"

* * *

Prince Inuyasha dropped Kagome's arm the second they entered the ballroom before anyone noticed the two of them together. Frowning slightly, she looked at him questioningly, though he didn't return her gaze. As soon as his parents were far enough ahead of them and properly occupied, Inuyasha began inching away from her slowly, as if testing his chances for a clean escape.

Princess Kagome had had enough of his distant behavior towards her during her first three days here and wasn't in the mood for much more of it. "What are you doing?" she hissed, stomping closer to him and elbowing sharply in the ribs. "You're _supposed_ to be my escort tonight!"

Inuyasha jumped at her sudden, rather vicious outburst, though he recovered quickly, shooting back with his own snappy retort, "Keep your voice down, will ya? You're not so dependent that I have to hold your hand everywhere you go, are you?"

Kagome's scowl hardened. "Maybe it was too much for me to assume that my fiancé would be so kind as to show me around while I visited."

"Maybe it was," Inuyasha agreed cruelly, turning around and continuing his earlier escape route. She was right, of course, he should've been spending more time with her than he'd been, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It wasn't so much that he disliked her, quite the opposite actually. She was just too pretty. He wasn't used to liking someone so much, and he certainly wasn't anticipating liking Princess Kagome this much, betrothed or not. The only reason he'd gone along with his parent's arrangement of their marriage was the proximity to the Sacred Jewel he'd have; he wasn't expecting to actually care for the princess. It was uncomfortable for him to admit that he was starting to, so he kept his distance.

"Hey!" Princess Kagome called after him indignantly, marching just behind him. "Don't think you'll be rid of me so easily, Prince. I'm not going anywhere."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes to the ceiling. This princess was turning out to be as difficult as he was, and he didn't like that. It certainly didn't help his situation any. He grumbled curses under his breath, quickening his pace and cursing more fervently as she matched it. He kept his eyes focused on his shoes, willing them to move faster to elude this infuriating girl. Not watching where he was going, Prince Inuyasha didn't catch the presence of another pair of shoes until it was too late: he bumped into somebody, interrupting his getaway and causing Kagome to run into his own back, not expecting his sudden stop.

"Would you kindly watch where you're going, brother?" the Crowned Prince, Sesshomaru snapped as he turned to see the culprit who'd so foolishly trampled into him.

"Lay off, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha shot back, rubbing his bumped forehead. "I gotta get this princess off my tail."

"Hey!" Kagome shoved his back roughly, almost sending him careening forward into Sesshomaru again.

"Indeed," Sesshomaru observed the pair uninterestedly. "Perhaps she would be so inclined to give you space if you granted her just one dance."

Princess Kagome snorted rudely. "Not likely."

Raising his palms and eyes to the ceiling again in frustration, Prince Inuyasha turned on Kagome. "What do I have to do, then? What will it take to get you to leave me alone?"

"You could start by being a little nicer to me," Kagome replied snidely.

"Now that, young princess," Sesshomaru cut in as he dismissed himself from the bickering couple, "Is most unlikely."

Remembering what Sesshomaru had said, Inuyasha offered desperately, "If I dance with you, will you give me space?"

Kagome frowned at him for a moment longer before making a show of considering his offer. "Perhaps," she relented finally.

Inuyasha didn't like the sneaky tone in her voice, or the ambiguity of her answer, but he was going to take his opportunity while it was given. He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her among the dancers, hurriedly taking his position and leading her much quicker than the tempo of the music.

"It's got to be a good dance if I'm to be so persuaded to leave you alone, Prince," Princess Kagome informed him in mock sweetness, digging her nails into his shoulder and stepping on his feet to force him to slow down.

Inuyasha huffed and studiously kept his eyes anywhere but on the princess. She happened to look especially pretty tonight, with her long black hair left hanging down to her mid-back and her strapless pink dress hugging her chest and waist before flowing out gracefully at her hips. Begrudgingly, he slowed their dance to match the pace of the instruments, though he kept his head turned slightly away from hers in an effort to keep himself from staring for too long at her. This position, however allowed him to catch all the interested stares and whispered comments from the other couples they passed.

"You are a horrible dance partner," Kagome informed him conversationally after a moment of blessed silence.

"Hey!" Forgetting his efforts, Inuyasha whipped his head around to glare at her resentfully. He deepened his scowl as a last-ditch resort to keep his eyes from wandering. "You're the one who wanted this dance, Princess. Stop complaining."

Sighing with the same level of impatience as a mother would with her disobedient child, Kagome removed her hand from his shoulder to pry Inuyasha's stiffly directing hand from her side to the middle of her back, forcing their chests closer together in a more intimate dancing embrace. The prince blushed a fiery red and turned his head from her again, scowling at nothing and digging his fangs into his bottom lip to stop his mouth from running off on its own and spouting something horrendously embarrassing.

"You've got to lead with your fingers on the back," Princess Kagome said softly, sounding mischievously indulgent. "It hurts on the side."

Prince Inuyasha didn't reply, his eyes furiously scanning around the ballroom for something, anything, to distract him. He caught sight of his father, who was busy staring into the crowd of dancers, a look of gloating, teasing curiosity in his eye. He didn't notice his son, however, and Inuyasha was forced to find somebody else to silently plead with to rescue him from this pushy temptress. Sesshomaru was smirking at him condescendingly, though the chance of his brother doing anything that would benefit him seemed slimmer than Kagome suddenly ending the dance of her own accord.

Finally, the conductor signaled for a change in the music and Inuyasha gratefully dropped his hands from Kagome.

"Hold on," she complained, grabbing the front of his robes and keeping him from fleeing, "Where do you think you're going? We're dancing."

"We did," Inuyasha emphasized, struggling to pry her vice-like grip from his robes. "I danced one dance with you and now you've got to leave me alone."

Princess Kagome grinned wickedly, placing both hands on his shoulders, planting him firmly in his spot. "Oh no, my Prince. I'm afraid you never specified the number of dances before I leave you be." She stepped up to him, boosting herself up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "And I want another one."

Another heated blush flushed across Inuyasha's cheeks and he flailed his arms wildly, knocking her hands from his shoulders and forcing her back a step. They stared at each other for a painfully long while, Inuyasha's face twisted in consternation and Kagome's alight with mirth and flirtatiousness. Thankfully, the moment was eventually interrupted by a great clap to both of their shoulders, and King Inu no Taisho suddenly appeared between the two of them.

"Inuyasha! There you are, boy! I've been looking all over for you," the king gave Inuyasha's shoulder a slight shake in lighthearted reprimand.

"Dad," Inuyasha said in slight befuddlement, as if confused at his father's appearance. He shook his head and caught Kagome's eyes before quickly looking away again. "You were looking for me?"

"Of course, boy. It's time!"

"Time?" Prince Inuyasha's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Time for what?"

"Your announcement," King Inu no Taisho boomed, "You've got to introduce Princess Kagome here as you're fiancée!"

Balking, Inuyasha shook his head furiously and waved his hands. "Oh, no. No, no, no way am I going to do that."

"Hey," the princess called out dryly from beside the king's other side. "I'm right here, you know. You could at least pretend to be a little more cooperative about it."

"Come off it, son. It's got to be said. Just a quick few words and you're done." The king waved genially as he excused himself from the prince and princess. "I'll introduce you. Be ready, m'boy!"

"No—Dad, wait!" Groaning, Inuyasha dug his palms into his eyes, trying to block out the ball, the princess, his very existence, anything that would just make this night end right now.

"Listen, Prince," Kagome said from beyond the safety of his closed eyelids, "I'm getting really sick and tired of your attitude since I got here. She huffed and knocked his hands away from his eyes, revealing his signature scowl in his reddened eyes. "Seriously. . ." her voice had dropped to a whisper, and she studied his glare with a sincere curiosity. ". . . What is your problem?"

Growling lowly in the back of his throat, Inuyasha weighed his varying answers before replying. He could tell her how he felt about her: he thought she was pretty; he very possibly could care for her quite a lot even though he didn't even really know her. He could also lie and say he didn't like her at all, and that he was only going through with their marriage because of the Sacred Jewel. Both didn't particularly seem like pleasing responses. Still, she was waiting for his reply.

He opened his mouth reluctantly, not quite sure what he had decided on saying when suddenly, his father spoke for him.

"My prosperous people, I am most proud to introduce to you my youngest son, Prince Inuyasha!"

* * *

Naraku watched from just outside the ballroom's main entryway as the anticipating crowd's attention turned from their king to the young half-yōkai prince standing stiffly in their midst. Kikyo's hand tightened on his shoulder and he patted it reassuringly with his own hand. They had been waiting for this moment for three years, and like Kikyo had said, the hope that burned in her glowed all the more upon her secret arrival early that morning. Prince Inuyasha would never get his chance to speak.

Carefully aiming the stolen shakujō at the large chandelier high above Inuyasha's and Kagome's heads, Naraku slowly let the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He supposed it was natural that he feel the smallest bit of trepidation; he was finally presented with a long-awaited opportunity and, should he fail, the consequences would be unimaginably terrible. Though he also realized as he channeled his concentration and might into the aimed shakujō in his hand that with Kikyo, the direct descendent of Midoriko under his thumb, the chances of failure where slim to none.

A sudden, sickly green burst of energy leapt from the shakujō to the chandelier, hitting the immaculately lit candles and erupting into a tremendous storm of sparks raining down on the shocked and scared partygoers below. There were screams, so loud and numerous that it almost drowned the sound of the bolts securing the chandelier to the ceiling weakening and breaking, and Inuyasha and the princess barely had time to dive out of the way before the large fixture crashed to the ground. King Inu no Taisho's eyes scanned the ballroom lethally, searching for the source of the blast as Naraku revealed himself from the shadows.

"A grand party you've thrown here, my Liege," he called over to the king conversationally. "It's a shame that it must be brought to an early end."

"Naraku," Inu no Taisho snarled, his eyes glowing a dangerous red and his lip curling in a beast-like manner. "What the devil do you think you're doing?"

Naraku aimed the shakujō at the prince and princess still picking themselves up from the floor as Kikyo came from the shadows to join him in the ballroom. There were a few soft gasps at her appearance, though Naraku ignored them as he fixed his eyes on the king's. "Securing a better future for the kingdom than what you have promised them."

"Hand it over, Princess," Kikyo demanded then, holding her hand out expectantly at Kagome.

"Hand what over?" the princess called back warily.

"You know of what I speak," Kikyo spat viciously, turning to the princess fully and taking a threatening step towards her. "The Sacred Jewel. By ancestral right it belongs to me. Hand it over!"

Kagome's hand flew to the tiara perched on her head as she quickly jumped to her feet. She looked between Inuyasha and King Inu no Taisho desperately, as if begging them for answers on what to do. Before anyone else could move a muscle, Naraku sent another sickly blast of energy through the shakujō, this one weaker than before, and hit Kagome squarely in the chest, sending her flying backwards. The tiara, and the Sacred Jewel with it, fell from her head.

"Princess!" a young girl suddenly with long brown hair in a light blue dress suddenly burst from the crowd, throwing herself with a surprising agility at Kikyo, who had bent to retrieve the tiara.

Several people moved at once: Miroku, that wretched junior monk from the Monastery, a younger boy with the same colored hair as the first girl, and Prince Inuyasha all dove for the fallen princess while King Inu no Taisho lunged for Naraku's throat, but was held at bay at the last minute as Naraku swung the glowing shakujō in his face, ready to shoot another blast. The girl who had gone for Kikyo now wrestled with her fiercely, punching and clawing her way to the tiara that Kikyo struggled to hold at bay.

"Sango!" Miroku shouted over to the girl, jumping in the fray and joining in the fight to wrestle the Sacred Jewel away from Kikyo. The younger boy soon joined his side in the fight as it continued to escalate.

With King Inu no Taisho momentarily distracted by the miniature battle, Naraku sent a third blast from the shakujō, this one aimed just over the fighters' heads, scaring them into quieting. Taking advantage of the momentary lull, Kikyo wrenched her captured arm away from the girl called Sango, tiara in hand. She walked towards Naraku, a small smile on her face as she let him view the spoils of her victory.

"Now that that's settled," Naraku said coolly, holding the lot at bay with his armed and ready staff. He looked to Kikyo, who cradled the tiara tenderly, stroking the smooth, daunting surface of the Sacred Jewel with her index finger. "It seems I now have the advantage in this fight."

"You won't get away with this, Naraku," Inu no Taisho growled as his son helped Kagome to her feet.

"That Sacred Jewel belongs to me, Kikyo," the princess called over to them, her voice shaking with the effort to sound strong. "I am its sworn protector."

"Not anymore, I'm afraid, dear Princess," Naraku answered in place of Kikyo, reaching over and wrapping one fist around the Jewel still held in Kikyo's hands. He could feel it pulse anew with unfathomable power within his fist, and aimed the shakujō once more at the stunned prince and princess. Using the energy he felt pouring into him from the Jewel, Naraku sent a final blast from the shakujō, though this one was a misty black. It flew from the ornament of the shakujō, and in an overwhelming flash of power, the entire ballroom was engulfed in the thick, heavy darkness.

There were more shrieks and screams, and through the darkness could be heard the panicked ruffling of several fleeing partygoers. Confused and angry voices sounded off from where King Inu no Taisho and the rest stood, confirming their places in the oppressive obscurity.

"Prince Inuyasha!" Miroku finally called out in the black. "Prince Inuyasha, are you there?"

There was no response. After a short, worry-filled pause, Sango called desperately, "Princess? Princess Kagome, are you alright? Where are you?"

"Answer me, boy!" the king blustered as the overbearing mist began to clear. "Inuyasha! Kagome!"

Sango let out a quiet gasp in horror as the last of the mist finally dissipated. Prince Inuyasha and Princess Kagome were nowhere to be seen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Six

With a terrifying snarl, King Inu no Taisho's eyes suddenly grew and slanted, still glowing that dangerous red color. His snout protruded, fangs growing and sharpening, and his pointed, yet human ears disappeared as two long and arched dog ears appeared more to the top of his head. He grew in stature, shape shifting and shooting to beast-like proportions as his true yōkai form cemented before Naraku and the rest's eyes.

Stragglers still in the process of fleeing the disastrous turn of events at the ball stopped and stared in awe and horror. The king's Inu Yōkai had not been seen for at least a generation, and as such, many there had only heard of his power and dominance with in this form. There was another ferocious growl not too far off, and they all turned to see the Crown Prince, Sesshomaru, come to his father's side, fully transformed as well. Next to each other, the two gigantic dog monsters were virtually indistinguishable, save for the markings on each of their cheeks; Inu no Taisho supported one blue streak tattooed across each cheek while Sesshomaru's were a dark magenta color and had two streaks on each cheek.

"Come!" Queen Izayoi suddenly appeared at Miroku's other side, urging their small group out of the ballroom hurriedly. "We cannot stay here. My husband and step-son are easy to anger and hard to subdue while transformed."

Their small group, consisting of the queen, Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Rin followed pursuit of the last of the partygoers, almost escaping the ballroom before Kikyo blocked their way.

"Not so fast," she apprehended. Her arms were spread and her hands splayed; Kagome's tiara bearing the Sacred Jewel was no longer in her grasp. "I'm afraid you all are much too valuable to be allowed to flee."

"You have no idea the powers you are messing with, my girl," Izayoi cautioned, her words grave, her tone a mix of threatening and gentle pleading. "You have to let us leave, and I strongly suggest you do the same."

A menacing, surreal smile spread across Kikyo's lips. Her eyes suddenly looked over their shoulders to the scuffle between the king, crown prince and Naraku. "Oh, I have an idea."

Against all odds, Naraku somehow managed to hold the great dog yōkai at bay, aiming his shakujō carefully. He held something aloft in his hand; the tiara, though it looked drastically different than when it had been in possession of the princess. The metal holding the Jewel had corroded and deformed, sticking out awkwardly and bending from the force of power. The Sacred Jewel itself was no longer the pure and undiluted purplish-pink color; it now swirled with black and darkness, a small, dense cloud of toxic miasma surrounding it.

"Oh no," Miroku said in absolute dread and horror. "The Sacred Jewel; he's tainted it."

"Tainted it?" Sango repeated, straining her eyes to see the change in the Jewel for herself. "What do you mean, tainted it?"

"He's channeling his power through it," Queen Izayoi explained. "He's contaminating the Jewel with his own delusions and unrighteous lust for power." She turned back to Kikyo, dropping all gentility and persuasive caution. "Let us pass!" she demanded harshly.

"_Naraku_!" King Inu no Taisho boomed down at the man holding the Sacred Jewel. His already loud voice was positively thunderous in his yōkai form, causing Rin to let out a small shriek in terror, clap her hands to her ears and hide behind Miroku. "_You cannot let this continue, the Jewel will destroy you_!"

"No!" Naraku denied, his voice sinfully gleeful as the tainted Jewel continued to burn viciously in his hand. "It will complete me!"

The miasma began to grow and soon enveloped Naraku along with the Jewel, swirling around him in a whirlwind of blinding and poisonous power. There was a distant _whooshing_ noise, sounding almost like an approaching rain storm, though it was warped and perverse. It grew louder and louder until the ceiling suddenly shattered above their heads, a hole appearing where the scar from the fallen chandelier had been. What appeared to be a glowing cloud flew inside the ballroom and began swirling around Naraku, joining the miasma. It contorted and twisted with forming shapes, until the sickening glow finally disappeared and hundreds—thousands—of creatures materialized from the cloud, their shrieks, growls, and squabbles sounding distorted and inhuman.

"Yōkai!" Queen Izayoi gasped as Miroku stepped in front of his small group to offer protection. "Feral and untamable, from the wilderness. There's a barrier around the western Lands that keep them from entering, though Naraku must've destroyed it."

"What're they doing?" Kohaku yelled above the deafening noise, watching as the crowd of yōkai shifted into a blur once more as they picked up speed, continuing to tornado around Naraku.

"They're joining with him," Kikyo proclaimed proudly as she stepped around from behind them. There were several subsequent bangs as all of the doors to the ballroom suddenly slammed and locked shut, trapping the small group inside. "He's taking them into his control, utilizing their power as his own."

"He's making himself more of a match for the king and crown prince," Sango realized with dread, grabbing her younger brother by the shoulder and forcing him to stand behind her.

"And he's succeeding," Miroku verified solemnly. "With the power of the Jewel and the yōkai under his control, King Inu no Taisho and Prince Sesshomaru have no choice but to back down."

As if to confirm Miroku's statement, Inu no Taisho growled low and dangerously, backing away a couple steps from the still-engulfed Naraku and circling around him, stalking him like a hunter to his prey, as the tornado began to slow.

Soon, the figure of Naraku was once again visible through the thickening miasma, though it was apparent that he was not the same as before. His stature, already imposingly tall to begin with, had grown by at least a head. His ceremonial robes were replaced by ones of much darker colors and were now anchored by armor, glinting with dangerous spikes. Eye-like shapes had been tattooed on the back of each of his hands, and the Sacred Jewel was now embedded in the breastplate of his armor, centered directly in the middle of his chest.

"_Naraku_," the king growled once more, circling around to face him again before ceasing his predatory walk. He glanced back briefly to his son a step behind him, communicating silently with him before turning to face the transformed Naraku. Obeying his father's silent advisory, Sesshomaru let out a low roar of his own and changed back into his normal human-like form and walked towards his step-mother and the rest.

"There now," Naraku taunted, continuing to use the shakujō to hold the king at bay. "I think we'll be able to handle this quite civilly from now on, don't you, Sire?" He gave King Inu no Taisho a cruel and pointed look.

King Inu no Taisho scoffed in contempt and finally transformed back as well, stomping over to his wife, eyeing Naraku angrily as he guided him with the shakujō. Once his opponents were all clustered together and guarded dutifully by Kikyo, Naraku stretched his hand out again, fingers curled into a tightly-clenched fist. He breathed deeply and waited, channeling is power accordingly.

"What's he doing?" Rin peeped from behind Miroku, poking her head out as curiosity got the best of her to see what the newly-invigorated Naraku would do.

"I'm not sure," Miroku answered warily, keeping his arms spread out to protect Sango, Kohaku and Rin while what was left of the Royal family stayed close together as well.

"He's summoning the yōkai he's just absorbed," Sesshomaru surmised. He eyed Rin's wide-eyed terror-stricken look fleetingly before fixating his studious glare back on Naraku. "He's either calling for someone to imprison us, or dispose of us."

Rin squealed sharply before ducking back behind Miroku, her small hands clutching his robes and hiding her face in the fabric.

"Yes," King Inu no Taisho agreed. "It looks as though we've lost this battle." His voice was lower than normal, and rang with a distinct bitterness. He wasn't one to go down this easily.

Naraku's fist had begun to pulse sickeningly, his veins bulging out weirdly in places and his overall presence appeared to be resonating. Suddenly, revoltingly, his fist fell from his hand at the wrist, landing with a quiet thud. Kohaku nearly gagged and looked away, and Sango gasped in repulsion and involuntarily began searching for Miroku's hand for support. The rejected fist began to pulse wilder, the veins still bulging even though it had been cut off from any blood supply. The pulses became bigger and bigger until the fallen hand itself started to grow in size with each beat, causing more disgusted reactions from the small group of prisoners.

After several moments of twisted throbs, the enlarged lump of discolored, rotting flesh split at the top like a cracked egg, miasma spilling out of the small opening. The lump shifted again, as if something was inside of it and struggling to come out. Instead of opening fully, however, the lump continued to split until there were two separate pieces of disregarded and spoiled flesh twisting and contorting into shapes. Naraku yanked two tapestries from the nearest wall as the two shapes began to resemble something human-like, as it was clear that they were both naked.

Finally, two humanoid yōkai stood in front of them, tapestries draped around their shoulders. They were both female, though one appeared to look around Sesshomaru's deceiving age, and one appeared to be no older than six or seven years old. The oldest had long, wavy black hair and piercing red eyes; the younger looked incredibly, gauntly pale, her hair and skin an eerie white, her eyes flat and black as coal.

"Kagura," Naraku addressed the older one, then looked down at the child, "And Kanna." He smiled at them with an unnerving paternal look in his eye. "I created you. You both shall serve me." Turning to Kikyo, he addressed, "Come, Kikyo, there is no need for you to tax yourself playing guard. I will need you at full strength to help me utilize the Sacred Jewel for the preservation of the kingdom."

"Naraku!" King Inu no Taisho yelled over to the half-yōkai who seemed to be completely disregarding them.

"Calm down, now, Your Majesty," Naraku responded lightly, rapping the shakujō into his open palm, "I haven't forgotten you." He turned to his creations, pointing a finger at them while pointing his shakujō at his prisoners. "Kindly escort the monk and his companions to the dungeons, Kanna," he ordered flippantly. "And Kagura, you shall kindly keep watch over the king and his family." He looked back to Inu no Taisho, an evil grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as he mused, more to himself than to anyone else, "Oh yes, I have something special in store for you."

Kanna was already to the door before Naraku gestured pointedly after her for Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Rin to follow. Disgruntledly, they obeyed, traipsing after Kanna as she entered the corridor. Sango waited before they were quite a distance away from the ballroom before she nudged Miroku to get his attention.

"Why are we just giving up like this, Miroku? We should be asking what Naraku did with Prince Inuyasha and Princess Kagome."

"You heard the king," Miroku whispered back. "There's nothing we can do at this point. We've lost."

Sango frowned. She was not accustomed to losing and wasn't particularly fond of it. "But we have to find the prince and princess!" she insisted again.

"Well, if you have any ideas, dear, now would be the time to share!" Miroku snapped in annoyance.

Sango's frown deepened. Miroku had never been cross with her before, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it. She looked ahead to the back of Kanna's head, trying to discern how much of a threat the child-looking creation of Naraku's could be. Just as she was formulating some sort of escape route, their party suddenly stopped at Kanna's example.

Kanna remained with her back to them for a short while before slowly turning around, a small, round, and framed mirror mysteriously cradled in her hands. Just looking at the mirror made Sango feel lightheaded and her stomach churned nauseatingly; looking at Rin and Kohaku told her they had the same dizzying sensation.

"Follow," Kanna said, her voice no louder than a breathy whisper. She turned back around and started towards the dungeons again, seemingly not caring if her prisoners did as she commanded or not. However, her small demand and mirror were convincing enough, and obediently, all four kept up the pace behind her.

Sighing, Sango tried to shake herself of the strange feelings that had overcome her upon looking in Kanna's mirror. She caught Miroku's eye, he gave her a slightly exasperated and bitter look that told her she should've known better. She shook her head angrily in defeat, hugging her arms for some small form of pitiful comfort. There was a small tug at her fingers, and she turned back to Miroku to see him offer a new look of apology and comfort, and allowed him to intertwine their fingers. He could tell she was stressing over her duties to the princess as her guardian, and felt like she had let Kagome down by not being able to protect her. Honestly, he felt the same about Prince Inuyasha. Both of their minds ran with the same question as they finally made it to the dungeon and Kanna locked them in their cell:

How on earth were they ever going to find the prince and princess?


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Seven

Inuyasha and Kagome landed on the forest floor with a heavy grunt. Rolling on to his back, the young prince threw his arm over his eyes, trying to block out the nauseating swirling lights still bombarding his senses.

"What . . . the . . . hell. . ." he mumbled slowly while Kagome groaned and rolled onto her back as well. Feeling his arm start to go numb, Inuyasha lowered it, though he kept his eyes squeezed shut. He wasn't ready to focus on anything yet.

"I feel sick," Kagome moaned, clenching her stomach pitifully. Suddenly she bolted into a sitting position, taking only a moment to sway with nausea. "My tiara!" she gasped, fingers combing her tousled hair desperately, "The Sacred Jewel! It's gone!"

Finally, Inuyasha opened his eyes, glaring at his unfamiliar surroundings. "Yeah, and so are we." He pushed himself up so he was sitting as well and looked at the foreign wilderness all around him.

Kagome joined him in surveying their surroundings nervously. "What are you saying? You mean you don't know where we are?" she asked in disbelief. Her nervousness grew as Inuyasha shook his head. "How could you not know where we are?"

"Well, geez, Princess, it's not like I was able to choose where that bastard Naraku sent us!" Inuyasha snapped. He perched himself up in a crouched position, supporting his weight on his hands and feet and shook himself off like a wet dog. Kagome watched him in bemusement, remaining silent as he walked around in a small circle around her.

"What are you doing?" she asked after a moment.

"Trying to figure out a way out of here. Are you going to help or not?"

Kagome huffed and folded her arms. A week ago she would've thought that being alone with Inuyasha would have to be the most romantic thing in the world. Now he was the last person on earth she would want to be stranded with.

"Are _you_ going to help a lady to her feet?" she shot back, staring up at the back of his head expectantly.

Growling under his breath, Inuyasha turned to face Kagome once more. "Now is not the time to act like a princess, Princess," he sneered, glaring down at her stubborn, seated form.

"Who said anything about acting like a princess?" Kagome responded coolly, with mock innocence. "I said I was a lady, which is what I always will be, lost in the woods or not."

For the umpteenth time since becoming more acquainted with the princess, Inuyasha rolled his eyes heaven-ward. Letting a few more curse words slip out, low enough she would not hear them, he shoved his hand in her face, palm up and waiting.

Sending him a victorious smile, Kagome accepted his hand and pulled herself to her feet, dusting off her ball gown daintily. After ensuring that the back of her gown showed no signs of terrible damage from her fall, she turned to face Inuyasha fully, taking a step back and frowning in befuddlement as she found him sitting once more. He slipped his boots and stockings off, stood once more and wiggled his toes in the soft dirt.

"I hate shoes," he explained gruffly. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

He took her hand and led her down a pathway he deemed promising. Kagome looked at their linked hands and couldn't help but blush, disregarding the prince's present behavior. Her crush on him had survived his undesirable treatment of her for the past three days and it would appear that it would also survive being lost in some unknown forest with him.

"How are we going to get out of here when we don't really know where 'here' is?" she wondered, trying to keep her tone genuinely curious rather than accusatory.

"I think we're in the wilderness surrounding the Land of Yōkai," Inuyasha replied, keeping his eyes ahead of him.

"How can you be certain?"

"Why would Naraku bother to send us to some far off land when the Yōkai Forests are dangerous enough?" He looked back at her over his shoulder briefly, as if daring her to find further complaint with his reasoning.

Kagome glanced at the tall and oppressive trees engulfing them on all sides apprehensively. "I thought the Forests were uncharted," she muttered, her grip on Inuyasha's hand unconsciously tightening.

"They are."

Her free hand flew to grip his hand as well as she stared wide-eyed at the back of his head while he continued to lead them down his chosen path. "Then how do you know where you're going?" she demanded, her voice edging towards hysterics.

Sighing, Inuyasha stopped and turned to face her, taking in her scared expression and tense movements. He hadn't given a second though to traipsing through the woods, mostly because of his demon blood. There wasn't anything out here that he thought he couldn't fight. Kagome, on the other hand, had no way of defending herself and hadn't had a real opportunity to see a Yōkai's strength. She was completely unaware that she was in safe hands.

"I'm following my nose," he finally explained, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. He felt foolish for his efforts to try and comfort Kagome, having never done anything of the sort before and not having any idea if it was working or not.

Kagome looked at him for a moment, searching his hard, golden eyes with her terrified brown ones. She didn't fully understand what it meant for him to follow his nose, but she could tell he was trying to make her feel better at the same time.

Shaking his head as if to dismiss all comfort he would've offered her, Inuyasha turned back to the path, continuing to pull her along behind him. "I'm half-yōkai," he said brusquely, "I have better instincts than you humans. I'll get us out of here."

Kagome nodded, though with Inuyasha marching a step ahead of her, he didn't see it. "Okay," she finally whispered, having no choice but to accept his mediocre words of comfort. She kept both hands on his in a death-grip, trying to separate her focus between making sure she wasn't slowing him down and the underlying confidence his words to her held. He wasn't afraid of being in the Yōkai Forests. She tried to feed off his bravery as they marched along the pathway, the looming trees overhead only granting them snatches of moonlight to guide them.

After a while, Kagome's eyelids started feeling heavy. She opened her eyes wider, willing them to stay alert and focused. Ahead of her, Inuyasha showed no signs of slowing down as the night grew older, and his hand started pulling on hers as she subconsciously started dragging her feet. Still, he didn't turn around, remaining focused on their goal of getting out of these godforsaken woods. He only paused when debating a turn or fork in the path, his nose carefully sniffing out each turn before he'd choose one. Kagome opted for staring down at her feet, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.

Soon, her mind was lost amid the monotony and she didn't see a tree root jutting up from the matted dirt-and-moss path beneath her feet and she tripped, a surprised squeal flying from her lips. Inuyasha wasn't faltered by her stumble, and their linked hands caused Kagome's arms to be wrenched slightly as they remained in their place while the rest of her fell. The jostle of his hand did alert Inuyasha, however, and finally he turned around, brows furrowed at her sitting crumpled in the dirt, her arms stretched above her head as she refused to relinquish her vice-like grip on his hand.

Blushing, Kagome used his hand to pull herself to her feet awkwardly, avoiding his gaze as she mumbled an apology.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, seeming surprised that she hadn't seen the tree root.

"I'm fine," Kagome insisted, her blush still hot. She took a step to prove it, only to let out another shocked squeal as she stumbled to the ground again. This time, Inuyasha caught her mid-fall, his free hand wrapped around her waist as she lifted her foot to inspect it.

"I cracked my heel," she bemoaned. Sure enough, her custom-made bejeweled slippers now sported a hefty crack through one of the heels, making her only pair of shoes unfit for walking. She turned back to Inuyasha, who still held her by the waist and her blush deepened at their proximity. Seeing her cheeks redden caused Inuyasha's to heat up as well and he pushed her to stand on her own, balancing her weight on the remaining good shoe.

"You'll have to go barefoot," he said, turning away from her and dropping her hand for the first time.

She glared at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? I can't go barefoot! I'm not a yōkai like you, my feet will be hurt!"

Smirking slightly, Inuyasha squatted down at her feet and grabbed for her ankle before she could protest further. He slipped both of her shoes off, standing back up and tossing the useless slippers away. "It has nothing to do with being yōkai or human," he taunted, "It has to do with how pampered you are, _Princess_." There was a sneering emphasis on the last word as he addressed her. "Now let's go. I don't want to stop for the night yet." Turning his back on her again, Inuyasha resumed their way down the path.

"Wait!" Kagome called after him indignantly, standing with one foot on the other as she did her best to avoid all the thorns, sticks, and rocks in the path. Inuyasha turned, irritated to see that she hadn't moved from the place where she'd tripped.

"What?" Inuyasha called back, foregoing sympathy in light of his impatience. "I said let's go, Princess."

Frowning, Kagome reluctantly stepped towards him, tiptoeing around all debris in the path. Inuyasha sighed heavily, realizing that her insisted way of walking barefoot was going to slow them down severely. He reached his hand out for her, snatching her by the wrist and pulling her towards him.

"Here," he grumbled, once again squatting down, this time with his back towards her. "Get on my back. I don't want to wait for you if that's how you're going to walk."

Kagome huffed, eyeing his position warily. The last time she rode on someone's back she had been a little girl, and was significantly smaller. Now, she was only a few inches shorter than Inuyasha. There was no way she would be able to be comfortably supported on his back.

"Are you sure having me on your back won't slow you down?" she asked, mulling over her hesitation for a moment more.

"No more than you already are," Inuyasha mumbled disgruntledly. "Just get on. You'll be fine."

Running out of objections, Kagome had no choice but to obey. Gathering her dress up to her knees, she carefully placed a leg on either side of Inuyasha's back, sliding them between his waiting arms. Slowly, she lowered herself till her chest rested against his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, biting her bottom lip as she waited for him to stand. To her great surprise, he stood effortlessly, his arms wrapped around her shins as he supported her. Also surprising was how comfortable riding on his back already proved to be, and she subconsciously tightened her grip around his shoulders, settling into his back.

"Any more complaints, Princess?" Inuyasha asked mockingly as he continued walking his chosen course.

"No," Kagome responded mildly, turning her head and using his long silvery hair as a pillow. Inuyasha was a little unnerved at her response, expecting a biting remark only to be answered with a pleasant sigh. Was she enjoying this? His blush returned full-force as he thought this, trying not to focus on how much her smell increased with her proximity. They were both covered with a thin layer of sweat and dirt from stomping around in the forest, yet Inuyasha still thought that Kagome smelled fantastic. He cursed his heightened senses silently, growing redder still as he heard the princess give another sweet sigh.

Choosing to focus all of his efforts on just trying to find a way out of Yōkai Forests, Inuyasha marched down the path, momentarily stalling once in a while so he could sniff the air, making sure they were still headed where they wanted to go.

After a while, even Inuyasha's eyes started to droop. He could tell by Kagome's deep and rhythmic breathing that she had fallen asleep long ago, comfortably perched atop his back. Searching around, he finally found a tree he thought they could both sleep aloft on its branches.

He gave the sleeping princess a small jostle. "Hey," he said, trying to nudge her face with his shoulder. "Wake up, Princess. I think I found a place for us to sleep."

"Hmm?" Her voice was slurred and heavy with fatigue as she slowly pulled herself from slumber. "Sleep?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to walk around all night. Not if I have to carry your weight as well." Inuyasha was passed all pretenses of comfort now. He just wanted to sleep. "Hold on tight, Princess."

"Hold on?" Kagome was still too tired to keep up with him fully. "Hold on to what?"

Instead of answering, Inuyasha took a brief moment to steady himself, then launched himself and Kagome up to the closest tree branch. Too surprised and scared to scream, Kagome let out a strangled gasp and tightened her arms around his neck as he jumped. He continued to leap from branch to branch until he found one strong enough to support both their weights.

Loosening his grip around her calves, Inuyasha gestured to Kagome to climb off his back. She didn't budge, her arms almost choking him and her knees digging into his sides.

"Hey," he said pointedly, letting go of one of her legs completely to tug at her arms. "Come on, Princess, let go of me already!"

Finally, she loosened her grip, climbing off him shakily. "What the _hell_ was that?" she demanded, her voice quivering far too much to sound intimidating. Inuyasha wondered briefly if that was the first time he'd ever heard her swear.

"What?" he shrugged in defense. "Did you want to climb all the way up here? My way was faster."

Kagome slowly crouched down on her knees, hands splayed and grabbing at the gnarled tree bark. Inuyasha watched her with some level of annoyance and amusement as she inched her way along the branch to be closer to the trunk.

"Why do we have to sleep in a tree?" Kagome asked incredulously.

Inuyasha widened his eyes, playing along with her incredulity. "Do you want to sleep on the forest floor? With all the spider and centipede yōkai crawling over you?"

Kagome winced, though she still seemed to take the matter into debate. "What if we started a fire?" she pleaded, curling into a tighter ball as she hugged the trunk of the tree.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha leapt deftly to an adjacent, equally as thick tree branch. He settled into the nook created by where the branch jutted out from the trunk. "No can do," he informed her flatly. "It's too late now and hardly worth the effort and time."

The princess let out a small whine of indignation as she watched the prince adjust his position one final time before letting his eyes slide shut.

"Well fine," she muttered, more to herself than the prince. "But I'm still not sleeping in some stupid tree. I'll gather my own wood and make my own fire. I mean, how hard can it be?" She took a moment, gathering a few scraps of courage and judged the branches, trying to find a suitable one to climb down to.

Inuyasha listened to her struggle as she clumsily made her way branch to branch, though he didn't bother opening his eyes. "What are you doing, Princess?" he called down to her, inwardly groaning at her stubbornness.

"What does it look like, Prince?" she shot back, grimacing as she scraped her bare foot roughly across some loose bark. "I'm not sleeping in this tree." She muttered another curse under her breath as she slipped again.

Opening his eyes, Inuyasha smirked as he peered down below him. Kagome was only three or four branches underneath him, her progress painfully slow and awkward as she fought to keep her dress from tearing. She had it bunched up to her knees and held in one of her hands, her progress further impeded as she tried to utilize one hand for both holding and climbing. She slipped again, this time almost falling as her preoccupied hand failed to grab hold of the tree properly.

"Princess!" Inuyasha called out, sitting up at full alert. "You're going to fall at the rate you're going!"

"No, I'm not!" Kagome shouted back insistently, though her voice was not as convincing. She held perfectly still for a while, not daring to move a muscle. Her limbs ached in protest as she debated her next move.

"Princess," Inuyasha warned again, taking in her shaking arms with some measure of doubt.

"I'm fine!" she insisted, inching her foot off of one branch as she prepared to lower herself down to the next tree limb. With all her weight being held by her arms and one leg, her body shook all the more with her effort to be slow and methodical.

Suddenly, her planted foot slipped, the gnarled bark scratching painfully across the ball of her foot as she lost all hold on the tree. Wheeling her arms desperately, Kagome screamed as her stomach flew into her throat, plummeting backwards from the trunk.

Something hard hit her on the back and legs and Kagome winced in mid-scream, fearing bruises and broken bones. Then came the impact of hitting the unforgiving forest floor. The sticks and rocks crunched against each other loudly as the impact came, the startling noise a promise of the pain they would surely inflict, though strangely enough, Kagome felt no jabbing debris cutting into her back. As a matter of fact, she rather felt like she was suspended in mid-air.

Cracking open one eye, she snooped about, peering to her left only to be faced with a wall of red. She opened her eyes fully, a blush coming to her cheeks as she realized she was being held bridal-style in Inuyasha's arms. He'd saved her from a nasty end to a stomach-churning fall.

The prince let her legs fall rather abruptly, his hold on her shoulders the only thing keeping her from tumbling to the ground for real. He fed her a look of pure irritation and dissatisfaction.

"I told you, Princess," he scolded gruffly, both hands coming to grip her shoulders roughly. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult?"

Kagome frowned, her euphoric blush quickly fading away. "I'm sorry," she apologized disdainfully. "I can see it was a huge inconvenience for you to _save_ me!" She tried to push him away, but his claws bit into her skin, cementing his place.

"Yeah, it was," Inuyasha continued, "I found you a perfectly good place to spend the night and you have to go mess it up by being prissy."

"Excuse me, how is sleeping in a tree a good place to spend the night?" Kagome retorted hotly.

"Look, Princess, I'm doing my best here, the least you could do is stop being so damn stubborn all the time!"

Kagome's eyes widened dubiously. "Oh, I'm being stubborn? Because _of course_ you're not being difficult at all!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped, "At least I'm letting you tag along while I figure a way out of here. Keep testing me and I may just leave you behind."

Laughing bitterly to call his bluff, Kagome got nose-to-nose with him, bravely holding his glare with a steely-eyed stare of her own. "Oh, please do, my Prince. I dare you."

Inuyasha huffed in indignation, their faces close enough that his breath fluttered her bangs slightly. Still, she didn't back down, studying him intently, trying to calculate his next move before he made it.

A low growl hissed between his clenched fangs. "One of these days, Princess. . ." The threat was empty and they both knew it, but it did little to dispel the tense air between them.

Feeling victorious, Kagome smirked, her hands fisting in his red ceremonial robes. "Oh, come on, Prince," she egged him on, "What're you going to do?" Her mirth was tangible as a winning giggle spilled from her lips.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Eight

The kiss was long. And perhaps, considering their current resentment of each other, a bit too serious. Inuyasha's claws still dug into the soft skin on Kagome's shoulders, but she made no move to complain. Her own hands still held fistfuls of his robes and her grip failed to release as well as they both prolonged the kiss.

Kagome's lungs burned for air, though it seemed Inuyasha was refusing to relinquish her lips, and soon, they both puffed heavy breaths through their noses while their lips remained feverishly connected. There was no pretense as their mouths opened, their breaths turning to pants as they explored each other's mouths eagerly.

Somehow she ended up pushed against the tree, her back scraped against the bark. Her arms were around his neck now, fingers zealously tangling into his long silvery locks. His fangs nipped at her bottom lip, and any sound she might've made in surprise was swallowed up by his persistent kissing.

Then his hands began to wander.

Finally releasing her shoulders from his painfully tight grip, Inuyasha dragged his fingers down the smooth skin of her arms, jumping to her waist and finally resting on her hips as he encircled his arms around her. Even through the fabric her skin burned at his touch, and as embarrassing as it was, she yearned for more. . .

All at once, and rather rudely, Kagome's senses caught up with her. What was she doing? She had never kissed anyone before, and certainly not as passionately as she was now. And why exactly were they kissing now? Kagome reeled over the last five minutes mentally, trying to bridge the gap between fighting and engaging in a rather thrilling battle with their tongues. She had been laughing at him, rubbing in her triumph over their latest spat, and then . . . kissing. His face had been really close to hers, and his eyes were intoxicating, even if they were filled with irritation. She just couldn't stop herself. And then there was the trifling matter of him (rather enthusiastically, she thought with delight) kissing her back.

Reluctantly, she slowly pulled away from their kiss, blushing slightly as their lips audibly broke apart with a small _pop_! Her senses were still vaguely fogged with elation, the remembrance of her crush on him coming back full-force, and she looked at him with half-lidded eyes. His eyes were also hazy and filled with an emotion Kagome had never seen in them before, and she doubted she could describe it without blushing. His lips slightly swollen and his cheeks a little flushed, she was reminded of four days ago, when she first laid eyes on him. She'd thought him so handsome then, yet it hardly compared to how he looked now, looking down at her in misted confusion.

"Inuyasha. . ." she mumbled serenely, one had disentangling from his hair to stroke his cheek gently. His flushed cheeks reddened a bit more at the sound of his name coming from her lips, and he almost looked as though he was going to come in for another kiss when she spoke again.

"What're we doing?" Kagome wondered quietly, genuinely. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Inuyasha's cognizance seemed to have come back fully at her question, and he hastily withdrew his arms from their embrace. Kagome had no choice but to do the same as he stepped back, keeping his eyes averted as he donned on his signature scowl.

"Uh. . ." he ventured lamely, the flush on his cheeks becoming one of embarrassment now, "I'm, um, I'm sorry." He scratched the back of his head lamely as he continued to refuse to meet her gaze.

"Oh," Kagome sighed awkwardly, his humiliation triggering hers as she combed her fingers through a chunk of hair restlessly. "Are you?"

She hadn't meant it to sound accusatory, though it seemed that Inuyasha took it as such. Caught off-guard, his eyes jumped back to hers indignantly, looking almost offended at her question. "Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that, Princess?"

Kagome shook her head sadly. She looked down at her dress, numbly taking in all the tears and dirt from her attempted climb down from the tree the gown had obtained. Her fingers slipped from her hair slowly and she twisted and twiddled them anxiously, wondering how best to approach him without making this conversation any more painfully uncomfortable as it already was.

"I'm not," she finally said, braving to look up into his ever-defiant eyes.

His brow furrowed further in a moment of confusion. "You're not what?" he demanded.

"I'm not sorry," Kagome explained softly, trying to coax him into relaxing by remaining compliant herself. "That we kissed, I mean. W-we are betrothed, after all. Is it so unnatural?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened, his defenses faltering a little at her reasoning. He didn't like where this conversation was going. She was trying to get something from him, something that he wasn't particularly keen on giving. He'd slipped up enough already by kissing her like that, and he was making damn sure he wasn't letting his guard down ever again while in her presence. He didn't even understand why he slipped in the first place. No one had ever gotten under his skin like that before. This princess was something different. She was . . . weird.

Thankfully, Kagome had decided to continue talking after it became clear that Inuyasha wasn't going to give her an answer. "This isn't how I imagined this happening," she muttered, giving a little half-hearted chuckle. "But then, of course, the last three days haven't exactly gone according to plan either."

Inuyasha frowned in confusion. Was she rambling? Was she even talking to him anymore? Something told him that things wouldn't be the same between them any longer as she sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself to continue. It wasn't as if he was holding onto any lingering, foolish hope that things could go back to normal after a kiss like that, however.

"This may sound a little weird," she started, looking at him nervously as she struggled to sort out her thoughts and feelings, "Especially considering how I've treated—well, how _we've_ treated each other, I should say."

Blinking stupidly a couple of times, Inuyasha continued saying nothing. He was at war with himself; a part of him was morbidly curious as to what she had to say, wanting to shake her and yell at her to spit it out while another part wanted her to just shut up and let him go back up to his perch in the tree.

"I just think," Kagome went on, becoming braver as her words and emotions started to fall into place, "That given what's just happened between the two of us, I think that it's better if we're on equal ground with each other, you know? No secrets, or feuds or anything, just . . . understanding."

She looked back into his eyes, and strangely, Inuyasha was unable to look away. If the instinctual pit in his stomach was anything close to being right, then he had no idea why he wasn't stopping her before she said anything further. Maybe he wanted to hear it. Maybe hearing it from her first would help him be able to confess. He groaned inwardly. He wasn't used to thinking like this.

"If we understand each other, maybe we won't be fighting so much, right?"

It took great concentration to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Princess Kagome had a knack for going on for too long about one thing.

"Because I would very much like it if we could stop fighting," she said astutely, nodding her head at the idea. "Because, well, you see, I hate fighting with you because I'm pretty sure I love you." She let out a great sigh, feeling a gigantic weight lift off her shoulders as she confessed.

His instincts were right, and Inuyasha couldn't have hated them more.

She was back to rambling again, the pause in her speech fleeting at best. "I mean, I know that must sound weird because we've only just officially met, and surely that's not enough time to fall in love with someone, but you see, I've known since I was twelve years old that you were to be my husband, and I had this fantasy in my head about this perfect Prince Charming to whom I was to be wed," she looked him up and down quickly, assessing the prince she got instead, "And granted, you're not at all what I pictured—no offence—but still, even after meeting you, and after all that's happened I still . . . I still love you, and I just want everything to be alright between us."

Prince Inuyasha wasn't exactly practiced in the subject, but he was still pretty damn sure that was the worse love confession he'd heard. What did she mean, not at all what she pictured? And since when did Prince Charmings actually exist?

A blush had come to Kagome's cheeks now as she stumbled through her words, "But, I—I mean, I didn't expect that you—y-you know would feel the same way, or anything. . ." she sighed again and closed her eyes, only to open them and look at him with an anticipative nervousness. "Although, I always kind of hoped. . ."

Again, there was a pause, this one becoming more pregnant as it became clear that she was waiting for him to say something. Panic seeped into him, growing more unbearable as he continued to stand there and stare dumbly at her.

"Okay," he finally said lamely, giving a shallow nod for effect. Kagome's brows furrowed slightly, not fully understanding what he meant by such a simple statement. It was clear that he had not given her the answer that she'd been expecting.

"I—uh, I. . ." he stumbled for words, the war within in growing as he debated rebuking her or reciprocating her feelings. Her eyes had grown more hopeful as she listened patiently to his struggle, and he tried not to stare at her too long, not wanting to get distracted by the light gleaming in her brown eyes.

"It's really late," he mumbled at last. "We should probably get some sleep." He noted her crestfallen look from the corner of his eye and sighed discreetly. He didn't want to confess to her, yet he didn't want to hurt her feelings either, though it appeared he ended up doing both in the end anyway. He gestured lamely up to the top, thick branches of the tree. "Do you—do you want to go back in the tree, or . . . ?"

"Oh," Kagome said her voice unusually flat and quiet, "Oh, yes, I suppose so." She laughed a little, almost making Inuyasha want to wince from the lack of humor to it. "I don't think I have a choice anymore, do I?"

Her question was rhetorical and Inuyasha left it as such, instead offering his hand to her wordlessly, fighting yet another blush from coming to his cheeks.

"Here," he said upon taking in her inquiring look. "I'll help you up."

She hesitated, then accepted his waiting hand with a small smile. Inuyasha almost grinned back, a little stunned by the sincerity on her face. However lackluster her confession seemed to be, it appeared as if she truly meant it. He hefted her into her arms, preferring to hold her bridal-style again rather than have her climb on to his back. She wrapped one arm around his shoulders, grabbing ahold of his robes for extra stability and nodded as he waited for her to ready herself. Again, showing no sign of hindrance at all, Inuyasha leapt up the tree, propelling off of each branch until they reached the one Kagome had so indignantly stated she wouldn't sleep on.

Inuyasha set her down gently, then wasted no time in jumping across to his own branch again. Kagome was too surprised by his abrupt leaving that she failed to thank him, and instead watched after him as he settled back into his nook. She sighed heavily. Maybe confessing to him had only worsened their already tempestuous relationship. Taking his example, she carefully settled into her own nook, wary of scooting too far to the right or left. She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes, preparing herself for a short night of very little rest.

"Princess," Inuyasha suddenly called over from his branch. Kagome opened her eyes and barely had time to catch his crimson red cape before it hit her in the face.

"Use this. You look cold." His words were gruff and short as usual, though they brought a happy blush and grin to her face nonetheless.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, tucking the cape around her and nuzzling her face into the soft fabric. It smelled like him.

* * *

"Hey, Princess, it's time to get up." Inuyasha was over on her branch again, after what only seemed like a moment of sleep. "We've got a lot of traveling to do, we can't waste time."

Yawning, Kagome struggled to wake herself up. She squinted up at the thick bramble of leaves above their heads, trying to distinguish the time of day by what tiny swatches of light the forest let through. It seemed bright, though the sun did little to light up the dark of the forest beneath them.

"Okay," she sighed tiredly, giving a small stretch, "I'm up, I'm up." Looking down, she noticed Inuyasha's red cape still wrapped around her legs and folded down on her lap. "Oh, I guess you'll be wanting this back, huh," she muttered embarrassedly, handing the cape over to him.

He shook his head. "Keep it. You need it more than I do." His eyes took in her strapless gown, complete with tears and holes from her escapade with the tree the night before, and he blushed slightly before turning his back to her. "Get on," he said gesturing for her to climb on, "And remember to hold on tight."

Kagome obeyed, climbing atop his back and settling into the same comfortable position she was in for a great portion of the evening before. Once her grip was firm, Inuyasha jumped off the high tree branch, only propelling off of one or two more branches before they made it to the ground. Kagome's stomach dropped with overwhelming exhilaration and she tightened her arms around his neck involuntarily as the wind rushed passed her ears. She doubted if she would ever get used to that.

Inuyasha let her continue to ride on his back again as he set off on his chosen course, and a great portion of the day flew by with silence from the both of them while he worked to navigate a way out of Yōkai Forests. Kagome welcomed the quiet, using the time to think about what she had told him last night and how he'd reacted. She felt a little foolish for being so downhearted by his response, though realistically, she realized that she shouldn't have expected much more. She had probably overwhelmed him by confessing like that so suddenly. Still, it did seem like, and Kagome hoped she wasn't reading too much into this, that he was really trying to be nicer to her.

Her stomach let out a sudden grumble, interrupting her train of thought. Kagome was a bit surprised and embarrassed at the noise; how long had it been since she'd last eaten? She hadn't had anything to eat at the ball yesterday, a realization that further stunned her. The ball celebrating her arrival in the Land of Yōkai had only been the day before. They'd only been lost in this forest for a night. It all seemed so strange now.

"Are you hungry?" Inuyasha asked over his shoulder and Kagome was again jolted from her thoughts.

"Oh, y-yes," she stammered. With his enhanced senses, it shouldn't have surprised her that he heard her stomach growling. Although, it did strike her as odd that they hadn't stopped to eat before resuming their journey. Surely Inuyasha had gone just as long without food as she had, wasn't he hungry as well?

His grip loosened around her legs, and Kagome took her cue to slide down from his back. She looked around, confused as to why they stopped so suddenly. It didn't appear as though anything immediately around them was edible.

"There's a fresh-water stream not too far from here," Inuyasha explained, pointing in the proper direction. "Maybe half a mile or so. We can probably get some good-sized fish from it and something to drink."

Kagome nodded, again looking around for signs of the stream. "Um," she hedged, "How can you tell if it's half a mile from where we are?"

Giving her a look of dry exasperation, Inuyasha silently pointed a finger towards his dog ears, twitching them slightly for extra emphasis.

"Oh," Kagome laughed stupidly, blushing a little in embarrassment. "Oh, right, better instincts. Got it."

Inuyasha nodded, allowing the slightest of grins to cross his features as Kagome giggled away her humiliation. He pointed a thumb to his back and then the path, showing her options. "So, do you want to walk?"

"Yeah, I'll walk."

Unconsciously, Kagome reached for his hand and held it as he turned to lead her to the stream. Inuyasha glanced down at their linked hands questioningly, but didn't dispute it, allowing his own fingers to curl around her hand in return.

Kagome blushed again as she felt the grip on her hand tighten in reciprocation, then winced as a twig snapped painfully underneath her bare foot. Inuyasha stopped suddenly, causing her to run into his back as he strained his ears, searching for the source of the sound.

"It was me, sorry," Kagome apologized automatically. "I stepped on a twig—"

"Shh!" Inuyasha interrupted, his eyes frantically searching the heavy foliage surrounding them as his ears twitched in all directions, trying to pinpoint what he heard. "It wasn't you," he continued, his voice so low Kagome had to lean even closer to him to hear.

Terror began slowly sinking her stomach, her hunger long forgotten. She watched as Inuyasha raised his nose to the air and sniffed experimentally, then grimaced as he huffed through his nose. Taking his cue, Kagome began searching the forest around them, desperately wishing she had Inuyasha's superior eyesight. What if she missed something and they ended up getting hurt?

Inuyasha sniffed again, overwhelmed by the mass of unfamiliar smells. Why hadn't he noticed it before? There were too many, coming from too many directions, there was no way he'd be able to locate it or decipher what exactly it was.

"Listen, Princess," he muttered again, dipping his head slightly so he was speaking directly into her ear, "I think we're surrounded, but I'm not sure by what. We're going to have to—"

"Well, well, well," a rough and arrogant voice called out from the shadowy forests, cutting off Inuyasha's warning. "We've got a real treat tonight, boys: a mutt and his plaything!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Nine

"Is he asleep?"

Sango looked down at her younger brother slouched against the dungeon wall beside her, tightening her arm's grip around his shoulders to get his head to roll towards her slightly. Looking back at Miroku, she nodded.

"Yes," she whispered, keeping her voice low for the sleeping Kohaku and Rin, who laid nestled next to Miroku's side.

Miroku nodded as well, keeping his movements subtle as he shifted into a more relaxed sitting position. "Are you tired?" he asked Sango.

"No," she scoffed humorlessly. "Have we had any sleep since we were imprisoned?"

Tipping his head slightly in agreement, he acquiesced. "Fair enough." Then he got a sneaky look on his face and turned back to her. "Perhaps we would be able to sleep better if you were beside me, dearest Sango," he muttered, a grin climbing his cheeks as her face reddened.

"W-what good would that do?" Sango stammered, trying to keep her voice indifferent and failing horribly. "It's not like we could do anything with Kohaku and Rin here."

Miroku's eyes widened teasingly, faking shock. "Why, Sango, what're you suggesting? I was merely implying that if you sat beside me, you'd have a more comfortable perch to rest against."

Scowling, Sango turned her attention back to her slumbering brother, busying herself by brushing her fingers through his wild brown hair. Miroku chuckled lowly and followed her suit, glancing down Rin, who remained sleeping peacefully cuddled up on his left side. At least she and Kohaku managed to still maintain a semi-regular sleeping pattern throughout the recent hell they all had been through. Miroku's gaze meandered back to Sango, who now rested her head atop her brother's. Her eyes were closed, though he knew she hadn't fallen asleep by any chance.

As if to prove his point, Sango sighed heavily and opened her eyes, her gaze meeting her fiancé's once more. "We've been locked up for a week, Miroku. With barely any food or water. We can't last much longer like this."

"We'll be fine, my love," he assured her readily. Even while being held in a dungeon by a sinister madman, Miroku's natural optimism still held strong. When Sango huffed in response to his comfort, however, he was unable to stop his brows from creasing momentarily in irritation. Why couldn't she share his confidence?

"What about King Higurashi and Queen Emi?" Sango pressed further. Her tone was biting, as if she were challenging him to rebuff her warranted negativity again. "Surely they were expecting some sort of word from the princess by now."

Miroku shrugged lightly. "Perhaps they will become worried and send a guard. Then they can deal with Naraku and we'll be freed from this hellish pit."

Sango actually laughed bitterly at this, as if he were attempting to joke. Miroku frowned again. Maybe his confidence concerning the matter wasn't as bright as he portrayed it to be, but he was being serious. King Higurashi and Queen Emi seemed to be their last hope.

When her quiet laughter ceased, Sango retorted, "Or the guard will fall right into Naraku's trap and we'll have more company down here." She shook her head, as if dismissing the hope of ever being rescued along with the conversation.

Choosing not to respond, Miroku watched as Sango resumed stroking her little brother's hair comfortingly. To be completely honest, he was a minutely envious of the attention Kohaku received from her during the very long week they'd spent incarcerated. But, Sango was right. With their relationship still a secret, there wasn't much wiggle room for them to be intimate.

Still, ever since he'd asked her to marry him, the secrecy of the entire thing seemed monumentally more ridiculous.

He glanced around for something to distract him from staring longingly at Sango as he was sure he'd soon be unable to keep the myriad emotions from coloring his face. Fisting and un-fisting his right hand, Miroku brought up the bandaged limb for closer inspection, out of boredom and desperation more than anything else. He'd kept his right hand carefully wrapped for fifteen years now; there wasn't anything new to inspect. Even so, he studied the wrappings intently, looking for loose threads among the woven, silky cloth and making sure the palm was still completely covered.

"What did you do to your hand?" Sango suddenly asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Startled, Miroku quickly raised his head to see her gazing curiously at his hand, noting his concentration. He was taken aback by her abrupt, yet hesitant question. After three years and all the times they'd been completely nude in front of each other, she'd never rose inquiry at the fact that as the rest of his garments would join hers on the floor, the bandages concealing his right hand always remained in place. It was a little shocking, he figured, that even with as close as they'd become, there were still secrets hidden between them.

Finally, he smiled through his surprise. "Why, Sango, I'd thought you'd never ask." He was playing along with his private joke of how long it'd taken her to ask.

She blushed faintly. "Sorry. I didn't want to pry. You don't have to tell me. . ."

"No, no," Miroku dismissed lightly, waving the bandaged hand flittingly for emphasis, "It's alright. We are engaged after all. I should've been expecting it." He grinned a little, moving his gaze from her face to his hand and back to her eyes again. "It's cursed."

A crease appeared in Sango's brows, her face scrunched involuntarily. Obviously, that wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. "Cursed?" she repeated skeptically.

Miroku nodded grandly, a wistful look coming to his eye, as if he were lost in nostalgia. "Oh yes," he insisted, holding his hand palm-up for the both of them to get a good look. "By a terrible yōkai."

"Yōkai?" There was the smallest hint of alarm in her voice now. It seemed her expectations were met.

He nodded again, his own brows creasing slightly as he continued, "When I was nine. He killed both my parents. We were travelers, seeking refuge in the sympathies of the Yōkai King."

Sango seemed to be able to put the pieces together on her own. "King Inu no Taisho," she hedged.

"Yes. He defeated the yōkai, and took me into his care, his conscience moved by a young, recently-orphaned child." Miroku flexed his hand, curling and uncurling it into a fist again. "The yōkai had gotten to me before King Inu no Taisho intervened. The king took me to Mushin, my superior at the Monastery, and he was able to stop the curse from spreading any further than my hand." He let his hand fall limply back into his lap and gave Sango a reassuring smile. "I was sick for a long while, but I was able to make a full recovery. Still, Mushin and the king would've rather been safe than sorry, and had me keep it constantly bandaged, protecting the scar from any outside infection.

"And I stayed in the king's household, working in the Monastery and becoming his and his son's personal attendant," Miroku finished, his words accented by a soft sigh. "I had nowhere else to go, of course, but King Inu no Taisho saved my life, and for that I owe him my lifelong service."

Sango nodded, stubborn tears burning the corners of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Miroku," she lamented lamely. She couldn't imagine losing both parents at once, witnessing their horrible murder at the hands of a vicious yōkai. A very belated apology would not bring his parents back to life, nor would it restore his hand to perfect health. Nevertheless, he smiled at her appreciatively as silence overtook them once more.

It was Sango again who spoke first into the quiet, interrupting only the soft, deep breathing of Kohaku and Rin.

"My mother died in childbirth," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly with the weight of the confession. "When Kohaku was born. I was five." She smiled sadly, remorsefully. "I don't remember her very well."

"Sango. . ." Miroku wasn't quite sure how to react. He didn't prompt anything from her, and he certainly didn't expect her to divulge just because he had.

"My father was murdered when I was eight. When the War broke out, he was supportive of King Higurashi and Queen Emi. Even after it'd ended, he still managed to have many enemies in our village." She met Miroku's gaze for the first time since she'd reopened conversation. "We're distant relatives of Midoriko," she explained, answering his unasked question, "I'm even related to Kikyo through marriage. There were many in our village that was directly or indirectly related to Midoriko, the Sacred Jewel's first protector. When the king and queen took reign of the Realm, the protection of the Jewel went to them. Anyway, my father's support of the king and queen didn't sit too well with a lot of the villagers and it wasn't long after the War ended that he was murdered."

Carefully sliding her arm out from around Kohaku's shoulders, she turned slightly, giving Miroku a better look at her back, pulling her hair out of the way and revealing the tip of the gruesome looking scar still protruding slightly from the now dirty neckline of her ball gown.

"I got in the way," she revealed with a bitter and shamed grin. "I was trying to protect my father and came between him and the blade of a sickle." She shook her head sadly, pulling her hair back to conceal the scar once more. "A lot of good I did," she chided herself softly; "I wasn't able to save him in the end."

Wordlessly, Miroku stood and crossed the short distance to where Sango knelt with her head bowed. She raised her head to look at him questioningly, the rims of her eyes stained pink with un-fallen tears. He offered her a hand and, with a little curious hesitation, she took it, allowing herself to be effortlessly pulled to her feet. Placing a hand around her neck in a gentle embrace, he remained silent as he studied her, sympathy, love, and intrigue playing across his features.

"Miroku," Sango muttered, looking up at him with a prompting wonder.

Instead of answering, lowered his lips to hers and kissed her fully, deeply, as if to take away the long-lasting pain her past had left her with.

"Thank you for telling me," he whispered gently when he broke the kiss. He truly was grateful that they were both given the opportunity to confide in each other tonight. If anything, her story had filled him with a renewed and stronger desire to marry this girl, this girl who was always protecting others: her father, her brother, the princess. He wanted to be able to protect her, to give her a chance at a life that she wasn't born to obtain. He wanted their future children to be raised with both parents, knowing how much they were loved.

They sat next to each other after that, Sango's head resting comfortably on Miroku's shoulder. For the first time in a week, they both were able to fall asleep.

* * *

Sesshomaru was being held in separate quarters from his father and step-mother. No doubt Naraku wanted to keep the combined powers of King Inu no Taisho and the Crowned Prince at a safe distance after his close call at the ball a week before. Kagura, the older creation that the traitorous scholar had made, spent her time divided between guarding him and the king and queen. He felt no trepidation or intimidation by Kagura, though he passed his first week in incarceration in quiet (more or less indifferent) compliance.

He prided himself on his patience, and his ability to fully seize an opportunity as it was given to him.

Kagura, in turn, did little if anything to arouse any type of communication from him. Most days she just fixed him with a hard stare and stared at him until she'd leave to go look in on King Inu no Taisho and Queen Izayoi. If Sesshomaru were even the slightest bit unnerved by her constant glaring, he didn't let on. To her it probably looked like he passed the greater portions of the day meditating or sleeping. She would probably never guess he was waiting.

A week into his imprisonment (his prison being one of the castle's many guest chambers), Kagura spoke to him for the first time since she'd directed him to his "cell."

"Sesshomaru." She addressed him peculiarly, not asking for or speaking out for his attention, but rather it sounded like she was just trying his name out, as if to see how it felt coming passed her lips.

He opened his eyes and stared at her blankly, never flinching from his perch on the edge of the bed. A heavy, cold silence settled between them as they both glared chillingly at each other from opposite sides of the room.

After a while, she snorted softly chuckling under her breath at some private joke. "The great Crown Prince Sesshomaru. Some yōkai you are."

Again, Sesshomaru said nothing.

"From what I hear, you and your cowardly father backed down all too quickly when Naraku started using the Jewel. Just tucked your tails between your legs and ran, eh?"

Finally, Sesshomaru answered, although his tone could only be described as mildly bored. "It's not wise to mistake cowardice for intelligence."

Kagura looked taken aback, though she quickly became belligerent again. "Intelligence?" she scoffed, "Am I to believe that your brains got you where you are today? Locked in some damned room without the slightest hope of escaping?"

Sesshomaru glanced towards the door, then back to Kagura before looking out of the window unimpressed.

"You can't actually think you could win now, do you?" The question was scathing, yet genuine.

"It's as you said," Sesshomaru responded flatly, not turning his gaze from the window. "Naraku has imprisoned me, my father; he's gotten rid of my brother and the princess without batting an eye. We're locked up, under constant supervision, and even if we were to get out, all of the guards and servants have been possessed by yōkai, haven't they? All in all, things are looking quite miserable." He slid his eyes slowly from the window back to Kagura's. She still held the same belligerent, hard stare, but now she was unnerved.

A shadow of a smirk twitched at the corner of his lips and all bravado in Kagura's face slipped away as Sesshomaru remarked modestly, "Or is your impudence simply for composure's sake?"

* * *

Princess Kagome stared into the small flames of the campfire in front of her. It'd certainly been a strange few days, to say the least. When the Wolf Tribe had first encircled them in the woods, she'd thought they were done for. By their initial threat, she was sure they'd planned to make Inuyasha and her their dinner, though now a week or so had passed and they were both very much alive. Of course, now they were being held prisoner by a barbarian Wolf-yōkai tribe, but they were still breathing.

And as far as being a prisoner went, so far Kagome had very little complaints. They didn't eat too many things that humans did, so a lot of nights she passed on meals, but for being feral yōkai they were actually quite tame. Two of them had already decided to stick fairly close to her at all times, even affectionately dubbing her "Sis." Hakkaku and Ginta were their names, if she recalled correctly. They were quite the characters, one sporting a white Mohawk while the other held a messy mop of grey and black hair. They were persistent, yet virtually harmless, and Kagome had learned to accept their insisted friendship.

There was another one, the leader of the Wolf Tribe who also seemed to be quite taken with her, though his interests did not fall in line with his lackeys. His name was Koga, and despite his apparent betrothal to the sole female member, Ayame, he passed his time with the princess by slipping her blatant flirtatious lines a little too frequently to be flattering. What was worse was that his attraction to her seemed to anger Inuyasha, to the point that he was constantly bickering and fighting with the young Wolf Tribe leader, often to the point of physical violence. Kagome quickly learned that yōkai do not sustain the same injuries as easily as humans, and was quite accustomed to simply letting them battle it out. She also learned to accept Inuyasha's anger as some form of jealousy, as immature as it was. Consequently, whether he knew it or not, she always tried to be just a little sweeter to Inuyasha following one of his disagreements with Koga.

Sighing, Kagome stretched her arms above her head and glanced around her, wondering where her companions, Hakkaku and Ginta could be. Normally, she did not get this much time to herself these days to ponder, and their current absence was strange. She quickly shrugged it off however, figuring that they had seen her on her face that she was completely lost in thought and therefore deemed her uninteresting to talk to at the moment.

This blessed moment to be alone with her thoughts quickly fled as Inuyasha unceremoniously (and rather suddenly) leapt down from the oppressive branches overhead and landed, perfectly perched like a sitting dog, right next to her. Flinching, Kagome jerked away from him slightly as he appeared at her side, a noise somewhere between a squeal and a gasp flying from her lips. She'd been in his company for a week now, yet she was still unable to get used to his preferred method of dropping in on her.

"Inuyasha!" she scolded mildly, her hand pressing to her heart in shock. "You should stop scaring me like that!"

He huffed dismissively. "Maybe you need to stop being so easily scared."

Kagome frowned, but decided to pursue other routes of conversation. "Where have you been all day? I haven't seen you since morning."

"I've been around," Inuyasha answered vaguely, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he studied her. "You've had that mangy wolf on your heels all day, why should you care if I wasn't here?"

Sighing, Kagome put her hand on his shoulder exasperatedly. "You know there isn't anything between Koga and I. He's just . . . stubborn, is all, and he's—actually, he's a lot like you, Inuyasha."

Immediately, Inuyasha's temper flared. "I'm not _anything_ like that smelly, dirty, stupid Wolf, you hear me?!"

In the face of his anger, Kagome surprised both herself and him with a small smile. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry I compared the two of you. Actually, you're right. There is at least _one_ major difference between you and Koga."

"What's that?" Inuyasha demanded, sounding suspicious again.

"Me," Kagome answered promptly with a faint blush, pretending to be more interested in the tattered hemline of her ball gown than looking up at his perplexed face.

Scoffing, Inuyasha turned away from her as well, focusing on the flickering flames as his own cheeks mimicked the heat of the campfire. "Whattaya mean?" he pressed, trying to keep the rough edge in his voice to hide his genuine curiosity.

"Well," Kagome hesitated intentionally, her efforts at flirting with him becoming much more deliberate as she tried to get her hints through his thick skull. "What I mean is that I like you, and not him. I mean, I like him okay, I guess. You know, as a friend. But I love you."

Forgetting his resolve, Inuyasha's head immediately whipped back to face her once again, finding himself met by her impossibly deep, large brown eyes bearing into his golden ones earnestly.

"Oh." It was a stupid response, but at the moment, the prince found it was all he could muster.

"Please don't be upset with Koga anymore, Inuyasha. He could never mean as much to me as you do."

There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them as Inuyasha finally tore his eyes from hers to look at the fire again. He plopped down from his crouch, his legs crossed and his arms folded as he allowed himself to relax slightly next to the princess.

"Okay," he responded at last, still not daring to catch Kagome's gaze once more.

Kagome smiled at his reluctant promise and scooted closer to him, her hands folding loosely in her lap as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, allowing the lateness of the night to catch up with her.

He didn't respond, though just as sleep threatened to take her away completely, Kagome managed one more small smile as she felt Inuyasha relax a little more in her embrace, allowing his head to rest against hers.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Ten

Naraku marched pompously towards the king and queen's chamber where the monarchs were being held captive. A letter had arrived, intended for the missing— likely dead— princess. He smirked to himself as he rounded the final corner. Soon, not just the Land of Yōkai, but Miko's Realm as well would be in his control.

He rapped his knuckles on the door lightly before he let himself into the Royal Chambers, mocking the former monarchs of the level of respect they no longer commanded. Nodding to the yōkai guard, he stepped up fearlessly to King Inu no Taisho, who sat on the edge of his bed cradling his wife's hands comfortingly.

"My former Liege," Naraku greeted haughtily, twisting his shakujō in his hand idly. "I trust you've been well? How long has it been, two, three weeks?"

"A month," King Inu no Taisho snarled lowly, rising up from his sitting position. Even with Naraku's imposing and unnatural height, he still stood an impressive few inches taller than the half-yōkai traitor.

"A _month_?" Naraku repeated in fake astonishment. "My, how time flies! I hardly noticed."

"Naraku!" Inu no Taisho barked impatiently, "You must stop this now! Before the Sacred Jewel destroys you!"

Naraku waved his free hand dismissively. "Now, now, my deposed King, are you really in the place to try and threaten _me_?" He tapped the Jewel, still mounted on his breastplate in the center of his chest. "Let's not forget who has the true power now."

Inu no Taisho growled in frustration and Izayoi rose from her spot on the bed to place a comforting and rational hand on her husband's arm.

"It's not a threat, Naraku," the king spat out roughly. "Mark my words—"

"Ah, well," Naraku interrupted, making a show of over-emphasizing a yawn, "Unfortunately, this isn't what I came to tell you about." He produced the letter from his robes' pocket, displaying the sealed parchment out for the king and queen to read the name of the intended recipient.

"It seems the late Princess Kagome has received a letter from her dear parents," he explained unnecessarily. Another prideful smirk ghosted his features as Queen Izayoi flinched visibly upon his description of the princess.

"What to do," he pretended to fret, tapping the edge of the letter against his chin in mock consternation. "There is no logical way to deliver a letter to someone who isn't here, is there?" Again, he grinned wickedly. "Perhaps we shall read it then, simply for nostalgia's sake?" He ripped the letter open at the wax seal, not waiting for any response from the monarchs.

"‛_Our darling daughter_,'" Naraku recited grandly, ignoring the queen's sharp, disgusted gasp as he read the letter aloud and the king's warning shout of "Naraku!"

"‛_As your month visiting your intended comes to a close, we, your parents, anxiously await your return. We are most excited to see you off as you prepare to marry the worthy Prince Inuyasha and take upon yourself the very important role which you were prophesied to fulfill from the day you were born_.'" Naraku paused, turning his attention from the letter to his unwilling audience.

"Now doesn't that sound lovely?" he mused flatly, "Although perhaps it is a tad overbearing, don't you think?"

"Stop this, Naraku!" Izayoi pleaded angrily, grasping onto her husband's arm and leaning around him as he held her at bay protectively.

Naraku continued reading: "‛_We are so proud of you, dearest Kagome, and we love you very much. We hope to hear from you soon. With all the love, Father and Mother_.' Hmm. Almost leaves something to be desired at the end of it, don't you think, Milady?" He leered cheekily at Queen Izayoi, prompting King Inu no Taisho to pull her defensively behind him. He got in Naraku's face.

"You go too far, Naraku!" the king thundered, shoving Naraku back a step by the chest.

"Careful, Your Majesty!" Naraku threatened, wielding his shakujō under King Inu no Taisho's nose. "As I said, perhaps you should be more aware of who holds the true power here." He took another step backward, addressing the guard, yet not taking his eyes off the king and queen. "You there, guard!"

The yōkai guard snapped dumbly to attention, the effects of his possession evident.

"We'll need to send a reply back to the good King and Queen of Miko's Realm won't we?" Naraku now seemed to be addressing everyone in the room now, his evil sneer growing with sickening mirth. "‛_Dear Mother and Father_,'" he began to quote, "No, it doesn't have that ring. . . '_My darling parents'_—there we go!—'_It grieves me to say that I have been held up here in the Land of Yokai_…'" Naraku laughed as he stepped out of the door, out of the range of Inu no Taisho's claws. "Tell me, King, you know the monarchs in Miko's Realm, how thorough of an excuse will we need?"

The guard was closing the door behind Naraku, though King Inu no Taisho got one final threat out before it slammed shut.

"This will be the death of you, Naraku! Whether by the Jewel or my own claws, you will be destroyed! _I swear it_!"

* * *

"Look, if you would just admit it, I wouldn't be so mad at you!"

Inuyasha scoffed disbelievingly, letting his limbs dangle limply from the branch he lounged on while Kagome shouted up to him from the forest floor. "There's nothing to admit, Princess! I wasn't spying on you!"

Kagome snorted. "Oh, come on, Inuyasha, I could see it in your face. Just admit that you saw me naked, and we'll go from there!"

"Whoa!" Hakkaku and Ginta suddenly appeared on either of Kagome's sides, peering up at Inuyasha in the tree as well.

"You saw Sis naked?" Ginta demanded, grinning up at Inuyasha lewdly.

"I didn't!"

"Ooh, classic denial," Hakkaku said aside to Kagome, "That, Sis, is an undeniable sign of guilt!"

"Listen, you bastards!" Inuyasha leapt down from the branch, causing Hakkaku and Ginta cower behind Kagome. "I did _not_ see her naked! I was _not _spying on her!"

Kagome put her hands on her hips and didn't even flinch as Inuyasha shouted around her shoulders at the two young Wolf Yōkai taking cover behind her.

"Spying on Kagome now, are we, mutt?" Koga materialized over Inuyasha's shoulders, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Tsk tsk. Spying on someone while they bathe would hardly be acceptable, would it, boys?" he called over to Hakkaku and Ginta.

Peeking over Kagome's shoulder slightly, Hakkaku sniggered, "Yeah, right, Koga. We _know_ you were spying too!"

Koga made a show of pretending to look hurt, as if astonished at the very thought of him doing anything even remotely perverse. "Believe me, I would never! Kagome means to far too much to me to disregard her privacy like that." He shot Inuyasha a pointed look.

Inuyasha wheeled on Koga angrily. "_You_ saw her naked?!" he shouted incredulously in Koga's face. "Who's the sick bastard now, you stupid wolf? You stay away from her, got that?"

"Funny," Ginta mused, coming out from his hiding position behind Kagome and leaning his elbow brotherly on her shoulder, "You'd think someone's betrothed would be angry that another guy saw his fiancée naked, but if you ask me, he just sounds jealous." Hakkaku hid a snicker behind his hand in agreement.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Inuyasha fumed in frustration, "Forget this, I've had enough!" He began to stomp away from the small group.

"Come on, mutt, we were only playing around," Koga called after him dryly. "Besides, you gotta understand; it's not often that we see females around here—"

In a flash, Inuyasha whipped back around to Koga and planted a carefully aimed punch into the Wolf Tribe leader's left eye. Surprised, Koga stumbled back a few steps while Hakkaku and Ginta both jumped to his aid.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed reproachfully, bending down to inspect Koga's injured eye.

Inuyasha shook his fist out limply, flexing his fingers to feel for any bruising from the contact of the punch. He eyed Kagome suspiciously, watching as she gently dabbed at a small cut just under Koga's socket bone from one of his claws. So much for her profound love for him, after all. There she was, fussing over Koga like some sort of flighty man-eater.

"I'm leaving," he announced lamely, trying to regain Kagome's attention once more. His mood lightened a little when she looked up at him.

"Where are you going?" she demanded, standing back up and stepping around the three Wolf Yōkai still crouching on the ground.

"Just . . . out, you know. I gotta cool off. I'll be back later."

Kagome frowned at him for the umpteenth time that day. It had been almost a month since they were first lost in the Yōkai Forests and taken captive by Koga and his gang, and for the most part, she had thought that she and Inuyasha were truly connecting. It wasn't ideal by any standards, but at this point, she realized she didn't have much room to complain. She was beginning to hope that Inuyasha had developed, or was finally admitting to some of his own feelings for her.

"Fine," she finally agreed irritably. "I'll see you when I see you then."

Inuyasha nodded and turned away, waving over his shoulder as an afterthought once he was a yard or so away. Shaking her head, Kagome turned her attention back to Koga, who hefted himself to his feet slowly, his hand still rubbing tenderly at the now blackened eye.

"I'm really sorry about that, Koga," she apologized on Inuyasha's behalf. "He just has a temper, you know…"

"Don't worry about it, Kagome." Koga was trying to brush it off coolly, but it was evident that his ego was hurting, and was very likely more bruised than his eye. Finally, his incessant pride got the best of him and he demanded, "You really want to marry that guy, though?"

Kagome blushed, but nodded resolutely. "Don't try to butter me up, though. I'm mad at you too."

"Huh," Koga mumbled in bemusement, putting his hands up in surrender and apology. He shooed Hakkaku and Ginta off, who were once again getting rowdy now that their leader appeared to be okay. "Hey, go bother someone else for a while, why don't ya?"

Hakkaku laughed and tugged on Ginta's arm, urging him to follow. "Got it, boss. Just don't do anything with Sis that we wouldn't do!" The two soon disappeared out of sight.

Turning back to Kagome, Koga pressed forward in their conversation. "So what is it that you see in the mutt, huh? Can't be anything to do with his charm or personality."

Kagome sighed and chuckled lightly, sitting down on the trunk of a nearby fallen tree. "It's kind of complicated actually," she hedged, "And it's a bit of a long story."

Koga sat down next to her. "I got time."

Laughing again, Kagome nodded and acquiesced. "Inuyasha and I have been betrothed since I was twelve. It's part of this treaty between our kingdoms."

"Ah-hah!" Koga jumped in, "So there is no real love, is there?"

"No, I love him," Kagome insisted tiredly. "Just stop interrupting and let me finish, will you?" She waited until Koga nodded and urged her forward, then continued, "I've known for three years the man I was destined to marry, and it's hard not to fall in love when you know he's the only one for you." She hesitated slightly. "Even if I only formally met him a month ago."

Koga eyes widened and he looked ready to jump in again, but Kagome hastily stalled him, raising her hands up in defense. "I told you it was complicated!" she said hurriedly, simply wanting this conversation to be over.

Begrudgingly, Koga nodded and silence grew between the two of them as he mulled over Kagome's brief explanation. "So," he ventured slowly after a moment, "What kind of treaty is being fulfilled with your marriage?"

Kagome waved her hand dismissively, feeling the stressed under the weight of the whole mess she and Inuyasha were in as it all rushed in on her again. "Oh, it's because of the Sacred Jewel."

"The Sacred Jewel?" Koga was impressed and shocked, and he hurried to prompt her for more details. "You have the Sacred Jewel?"

"No, not anymore—wait, how do you know about the Jewel?"

"Kagome, everyone knows about the Jewel. It's the most powerful thing in the known world."

"Right." Kagome felt foolish; she should've known that. "I'm its—well, I _was_ its protector. I was chosen from a very young age to be the guardian of the Jewel. There was a prophecy made about me when I was born, something about me being the only one to keep it in perfect purification. When I turned three, there was a power shift in my kingdom and the Jewel was given to me." She paused, feeling an incredible guilt press down on her. "But I lost it. Now it's in the hands of the worst person imaginable. And Midoriko's own descendent helped it get there!"

Kagome sighed heavily, blinking back tears. "And now I just don't know what's going to happen. I have no idea how far away we are from King Inu no Taisho's castle and I don't know how to fix what I've done wrong!" She sniffed, wiping away fallen tears from her cheeks. "I was supposed to be the Jewel's protector. I was supposed to prevent anything like this from happening."

Koga rubbed her back comfortingly, still too deep in his own thoughts to offer any bit of verbal consolation. Kagome and Inuyasha were supposed to marry because of a treaty involving the Sacred Jewel. Kagome is the only person able to fully purify and wield the Jewel. What role did that stinking mutt play in the treaty? Was he chosen to be Kagome's protector? Or was he simply thrown into the deal to link King Inu no Taisho to the Jewel?

"What were you going to do with the Jewel, originally?" he finally asked. "After you married the mutt, that is. What were your plans?"

Kagome shook her head. "I wasn't going to do anything with the Jewel. I'm too scared of its power. I just wanted to keep it purified so that I could live with Inuyasha and the people of our kingdoms in peace." She smiled weakly. "I just want everyone to get along, to not be so afraid of the uncertain anymore. I wanted to give people that hope they've been craving."

Koga nodded slowly. His mind was racing now, full of the details Kagome had given him about the treaty and the Sacred Jewel, the welfare of his tribe, and the state of the world currently, with the Sacred Jewel apparently in the hands of some deranged psychopath. He turned back to Kagome, studying her intently as she wiped the last of her tears off her face and excused herself softly. There had to be an in with this girl somewhere, and he was going to take advantage of it.

* * *

Kagome found herself alone by a small campfire again that night. Some members of the tribe had gone hunting earlier that day and had brought back some wild, strange looking yōkai, half-man, half-bird. Apparently, these rare delicacies were best served up raw and once the plucking and skinning was complete, the Wolf Tribe wasted no time digging in. Deciding to separate herself as far away as she could from the awful stench of the flesh, she hobbled together her own fire and sat with her knees hugged to her chest, trying not to feel so alone.

She hadn't seen Inuyasha since he stormed off earlier that day, after the confrontation with Koga. A confrontation, she realized in hindsight, which was probably her fault. She shouldn't have been so mad at him for spying on her while she bathed. _If_ he was spying at all; she still didn't know for sure, she had only caught a brief glimpse of somebody in the bushes she'd thought had been him. By Hakkaku's, Ginta's and even Koga's surmising it had evidently been Koga himself, a realization that would've made her far more uncomfortable were it not for the fact that Ayame, Koga's alleged betrothed, had bathed with her. Surely he would've focused his attention on the Wolf Tribe princess, right? Though, if Inuyasha had been spying, would his attention be directed at her, as his fiancée? Kagome felt her cheeks heat up at her own wandering thoughts and buried her face in her knees self-consciously, even though she was too far away for anyone else to notice.

There were footsteps approaching her and she looked up, mildly surprised to see Inuyasha walking towards her, his trademark scowl still on his face. Her blush deepened drastically, and she was suddenly worried that he'd be able to figure out what she'd been thinking about. Kagome rather hoped his dimwittedness would blur his instincts at least a little.

"Inuyasha…" she muttered, her hold on her knees tightening involuntarily as he sat down beside her.

"Hey," he greeted gruffly, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Kagome shook her head dismissively, watching with some measure of curiosity as he started assembling sticks above the fire in a sort of makeshift cooking spit. "No, it's fine. What are you doing?"

Inuyasha turned to face her fully for the first time since joining her by her small, separated campfire. He gave her a strange look before reaching to his other side. "You want to eat, don't you?" He held up two moderately-sized fish tied by the mouth on a thin rope.

A smile came to Kagome's lips before she could stop it. "You got us something to eat?" she all but gushed.

Going slightly red in the face, Inuyasha huffed, "Well yeah. Unless you wanted to eat those yōkai birds?"

"No, no," the princess cut in quickly, watching as her prince carefully mounted the two fish using his handmade cooking spit. "This is all so wonderful," she continued blissfully after a moment.

"It's just dinner," Inuyasha scoffed in reply. His cynicism didn't stop Kagome from reaching over and folding her fingers through his as they watched their meal cook.

They ate in more or less silence, only breaking it when Princess Kagome felt like jumping in with some genial small-talk. Inuyasha did his best to entertain her, though light conversation was never his strongest suit. Before he retired to the branches of the tree above them for the night, Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek quickly.

"Hey!" Inuyasha exclaimed, clearly startled, "What was that for?"

"Just a thank-you," Kagome responded innocently. "That was really nice of you to find us something to eat."

The prince huffed again dismissively. "Yeah, well, I noticed you were skipping a lot of meals, so I thought I'd make sure you ate tonight."

Kagome's eyes widened and her cheeks felt very hot. "Y-you did that for me?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha reiterated, giving her a strange look. He seemed perplexed, frustrated, and earnest all at once. "Of course I did," he added gruffly for extra emphasis.

"Inuyasha. . ." Kagome raised her hand to stroke the side of his face. She'd moved without thinking, and though Inuyasha's eyes widened in alarm, he didn't back away from her touch.

"Inuyasha," she said his name again, as if trying to prompt him to say her name with as much affection and care. Her hand slid down to his chest and stayed there, her fingers seeming to burn where she touched bare skin. Both of them seemed to be gaging the other for some sort of reaction.

If he were to be completely honest with himself, Inuyasha wanted to admit to Kagome some of the feelings he had for her. He had never been blessed with gentle-sounding speech, so as it was, he tried to fix her with as benevolent a gaze as he could muster as he reached out and softly wiped away some errant dirt off of her jaw. She blushed under his touch, and Inuyasha had to will himself not to immediately drop his hand under her ardent stare.

Finally, his hand slid down her arm until it held hers, still resting on his chest. "It's getting late," he muttered, giving her hand a squeeze and feeling quite proud of himself for not breaking her gaze. "Get some sleep, Princess."

* * *

They'd heard the scraping noises for around fifteen minutes now. At first the four of them watched the corner nervously; apprehensive of what was trying to break into their cell. When Miroku noted that that particular corner was in fact on an exterior wall, their apprehension grew ten-fold. They hadn't heard much from their prison guard, Kanna, though it was safely assumed that with Naraku in control, untamed yōkai were free to run amok.

However, as time dragged on, the small group of prisoners doubted that anything that took fifteen minutes to dig their way through reasonably soft ground could cause them too much trouble.

"What do you think it is?" Kohaku wondered aloud after Kanna had disappeared upon leaving them their scant dinner.

"No idea," Sango commented, dividing most of her meal to her brother while Miroku did the same with Rin.

"But it won't cause us problems, right, Miroku?" Rin looked at him with big, worried eyes.

"Of course not," Miroku assured her warmly. "You have Sango and I looking out for you." He squeezed Sango's shoulder familiarly before his fingers danced across her neck to wrap around her in a loose embrace. The moment was short-lived as Miroku quickly dropped his arm to avoid suspicion and Sango blushed and refused to meet his eyes. Even so, Kohaku eyed them curiously, a wary frown crossing his face.

"So what do we do then?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked on his older sister and the overly-affectionate monk.

Sango shrugged as Miroku said, "I suppose we wait. Whoever is digging their way in here must be pretty dedicated to keep at it for so long. They'll show up eventually."

As if on cue, a hand suddenly clawed its way up through the padded dirt of the dungeon floor, causing all four prisoners to jump involuntarily. Once the hand broke through, the rest of the yōkai pulled itself through rather effortlessly. Too surprised to move, the four of them watched in wary curiosity as the yōkai, a humanoid female with cat ears, two tails, and yellow and black hair stood and dusted herself off.

She was apparently unaware of them, and when she deemed herself reasonably clean of dirt, she seemed startled to see them all there. Recovering quickly, she took in their haggard appearance: tattered, month-old clothing, dirty hair and skin, tired bags under their eyes, then looked over at the locked, barred door holding them in incredulously.

"Dammit!" she cursed loudly, walking over to the bars and giving them a good shake. "Of all the places I could've snuck into the castle, I ended up in the dungeon!"

Miroku was the first to recover. "Excuse me," he called over to the yōkai, "Could you tell me what you're doing here?"

The yōkai turned back to them, now eyeing them with an uninterested glare. "Trying to get into the castle, what do you think I'm doing here?" Turning her attention back to the bars, she seemed to sizing up the width of space between each bar and trying to determine if she could maneuver her small, lithe body between them.

Sango nudged Miroku roughly, giving him a pointed glare. Ignoring his fiancée's upset, Miroku pressed forward, "What I mean is, why would you need to infiltrate the castle?"

"Are you trying to join up with Naraku?" Kohaku jumped in accusatorily.

Incensed, the yōkai whipped around to face them once more. "Don't insult me!" she snapped harshly, "Me, align myself with the traitor who's corrupted the Sacred Jewel? _Me_, Midoriko's own vassal?"

Alerted, Sango quickly rose to her feet, studying the cat-like yōkai with earnest. "Whose vassal did you say you were?" she asked.

"Midoriko's. The original protector of the Jewel." The yōkai seemed irritated that she had to repeat herself.

"I'm descended from Midoriko," Sango informed her excitedly. She gestured down to Kohaku. "My brother and I both!"

The yōkai eyed her curiously, as if trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not. "What're your names and province?" she demanded.

"My name is Sango," Sango replied obediently, "My brother's is Kohaku, that monk is Miroku and that's Rin."

"Kirara," the yōkai responded in kind. "Where are you from?" she asked Sango again.

"Miko's Realm. From Tajiya Province."

Kirara seemed convinced as she nodded resolutely. "Well, Sango, if you really are a descendant of Midoriko, then I am in your service." She bowed her head slightly as a sign of respect.

Sango and Miroku exchanged a contemplative look. It seemed all too easy to believe that Midoriko's yōkai vassal would just happen to appear, though judging from Kirara's behavior, that had no real reason to doubt her.

"Alright," Sango finally agreed, turning back to her newly self-appointed servant. "I accept."

Kirara nodded eagerly, before going back to the cell door. "I'm pretty sure I can fit through this," she said, pointing to the spaces between the bars. "Should I go see if I can find the keys?"

She looked to Sango to confirm, who in turn looked to Miroku for advice. He shrugged genially, seeming to trust whatever decision she made. Sango chewed her lip, mulling over the choices in her head.

"I think we should have a plan first," she finally decided, again looking to Miroku for confirmation. He smiled supportively.

"Right," Kirara nodded, leaving one hand wrapped around one of the steel bars. "What's the plan, then?"

* * *

The sky had taken to staying dark and heavy, even in the middle of the day. The miasma was thick and sickening, and even Kikyo was starting to have trouble staving it off. Naraku's regime was not anything like what he had promised her, and as the days wore on under his rule, she had taken to avoiding him entirely.

When the feelings of regret first manifested, Kikyo began to wish she was dead. Then when the guilt tore at her heart, she wished for a way to right her wrongs. She'd allowed herself to be jealous that Princess Kagome was chosen to protect the Sacred Jewel over a descendant of Midoriko like herself. In her jealousy, the Sacred Jewel had become tainted, just enough to give Naraku opportunity to steal it. Was there a way back from the sins she'd committed?

Even as her own desire to right her wrongs strengthened, Kikyo began to lose hope for regaining her place in the world.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Eleven

Her knock was timid, but the determination Kikyo felt was anything but. Naraku called her in on the second knock, and she took one last deep breath before pushing the heavy door of the drawing room open.

"Ah, Kikyo," Naraku greeted her warmly, waving Kagura away as she stood by to inform him of the king and queen's condition. "How kind of you to grace us with your presence!"

"Naraku," Kikyo responded, her voice far less welcoming than his.

Naraku caught on to her aloof demeanor. "Why, dear Kikyo, whatever's wrong?"

"This isn't what you promised," Kikyo said, "This isn't what we agreed on."

Instantly, Naraku's mood worsened, and he was now leveling her with a contemptuous look to rival her own. "Now is not the time for envy, Kikyo," he warned, his grip on his shakujō tightening formatively.

"I'm not envious. You lied to me, Naraku."

He scoffed humorlessly. "So I've hurt your feelings is that it?"

Kikyo shook her head. "This has to stop, Naraku. You've gone too far. You're not using the Jewel to make this kingdom a better place; you're using it for your own greed and power!"

Naraku backhanded her across the face, so suddenly, that it caused Kikyo to recoil and stumbled back a few steps. She cradled her bruised cheek, trying to channel the peace she'd meditated so long to achieve. She only had one shot at purifying the Jewel.

"Naraku, you can't do this anymore," she called out, her voice echoing off the tall walls and vaulted ceiling of the drawing room. There was an uncomfortable burning in her chest, and Kikyo began to wonder if the stress of trying to purify the Jewel was taking its toll.

Naraku seemed to catch on to her intention, and he swung his shakujō around, pointing it at her threateningly. "I wouldn't finish if I were you," he seethed.

"You will lose control," Kikyo pressed on, disregarding his threats. There was power to her words, she could feel it, though it was quickly becoming evident that it was too much for her to handle. Even so, she had to keep going.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kikyo yelled, "You don't have power anymore—"

The strike from Naraku's shakujō was sudden, catching her directly in the chest and sending her flying several feet backwards. The wind was knocked out of her as she collided with the hard stone floor and she gasped deeply, struggling to take in gulps of air. She rolled onto her stomach laboriously, still fighting to get air into her lungs and struggling to reorient herself. Her mouth was saturated with the bitter, metallic taste of blood and Kikyo spat a clotted puddle onto the floor.

Naraku watched her struggle pitilessly before he approached her, pushing the toe of his boot painfully into her stomach, kicking her on her back once again. Her eyes swam furiously, vainly trying to focus on the intimidating traitor looming over her. She was still choking on gasping breaths of air and blood now streamed down steadily from her nose as well as seeping from both corners of her mouth.

"I don't have power?" Naraku asked pointedly, his voice low and rough with barely controlled rage. "That's quite interesting coming from someone who can't even control the basic power it takes to purify the Jewel. Now look at you." He nudged her side with his boot, raising an eyebrow at Kikyo's low groan of pain. "You'll barely last a week," he surmised cruelly, stepping over her dismissively and taking his leave of the drawing room.

Kagura tapped her fan against her chin contemplatively. Apparently, both Naraku and Kikyo had forgotten that she was in the room, the first having stomped off angrily and the latter still lying where Naraku had left her, her quiet sobs only interrupted by the gurgle of blood in the back of her throat.

By all accounts, Kikyo did indeed seem to be done for. The amount of blood collecting in her throat and continuing to stream down from her nose was obviously indicative of internal bleeding, and like Naraku said, she wasn't guaranteed to last much longer. But, Kagura noted, Kikyo herself wasn't too far off the mark either. It was true that the descendant of Midoriko was nowhere near strong enough to carry the amount of power it took to purify the Jewel, though she did have power nonetheless. Kagura realized that Naraku must've known this too, as delivering a fatal blow would not have been necessary if he himself didn't feel threatened. Furthermore, Kagura had seen it: the small glistening of pure light coming from the center of the Sacred Jewel. She may not have been able to finish the job, but thanks to Kikyo, there was light brewing in the Jewel once again.

Kagura's stomach flipped as she realized this. She wondered if there was any point to being loyal to Naraku at all anymore. But who here was strong enough to defy Naraku. . . ?

Smirking, Kagura slipped from the drawing room unnoticed. She marched resolutely towards her destination, passing right by unknowing yōkai and possessed guards. Her fingers lighter than air, she handily snatched the keys off of the door guard, unlocking and entering the guest chambers without acknowledgement.

She turned towards the unsurprised prisoner, smirking again at the sight of his bored, yet somehow superior face. Opening her fan with a quick flick of her wrist, Kagura covered her mouth coyly as she greeted him.

"Sesshomaru."

* * *

Kirara poked her head back up from the hole she'd dug on her way into the dungeon. "I'm done widening the hole on this side of the exterior wall," she informed Sango dutifully.

"Good. That's good, Kirara," Sango praised. "Thank you."

Kirara shook off the complement modestly. "Ah, I'm just doing my job." She gratefully accepted the water Rin offered her, taking a long swig. "I should have the other side completed by nightfall."

"Thank you, Kirara," Miroku said earnestly. "I can't even begin to tell you how big of a help you've been."

Blushing, Kirara shrugged off Miroku's words as well. "Like I said, it's nothing." She smiled at Sango. "I'd do anything for a descendant of Midoriko," she said devotedly before disappearing back down the hole.

Kohaku and Rin crouched down at the opening of the hole, both having taken a shine to Kirara and taking it upon themselves to entertain her while she worked. With both of their backs to Sango and Miroku, Sango took the opportunity to scowl at Miroku and slap his arm reproachfully.

"Ow!" the monk whined pitifully, rubbing his arm tenderly. "What was that for?"

Rolling her eyes, Sango shot back under her breath, "Oh come on, Miroku! I saw that!"

"Saw what?"

"Stop playing dumb. You were flirting with Kirara!"

Miroku stared at Sango momentarily before a gleeful grin broke out across his face and he unsuccessfully tried to stifle his laughter behind his hand. Rin and Kohaku turned back to the curiously at the sound of his chuckling, and Miroku shook his head at them dismissively while regaining his composure. Sango turned away and glared at nothing while Kohaku and Rin focused their attention back to Kirara.

"I wasn't flirting with her," Miroku informed Sango lightly once the suspicion had died down.

"Oh really?" She didn't sound convinced.

"Yes," he insisted, his grin widening as Sango fought against his hand trying to seek hers. "She really has done a lot for us, and I think it's important for her to know how grateful we are."

Finally, Sango gave up trying to keep her hand away from his and sighed heavily as he intertwined their fingers. "She was blushing," she huffed quietly after a short moment's pause.

"Well, I can't control how she reacts," Miroku responded logically, rubbing the back of Sango's hand soothingly with his thumb. "But I can assure you that I only meant to thank her, and nothing more."

Sango studied him for a moment before shaking her head, apparently letting the matter drop. She focused on Kohaku and Rin again, who helpfully kept the handfuls of dirt Kirara tossed behind her from frustrating her progress.

"I have to say," Miroku mused thoughtfully after a while. "I had no idea you were the jealous type, Sango. It was quite entertaining."

Sango raised an eyebrow in minute irritation. "Entertaining?"

"And flattering."

Sango scoffed. "And the fact that you derive entertainment and flattery only confirms that you are a very poor monk."

"You wound me," Miroku replied genially, scooting closer to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. "If it's any consolation, I suppose I'd be jealous if some knight came out of nowhere and tried to sweep you off your feet."

"Only suppose?"

"Alright," he confessed, "I know I'd be jealous. More than jealous, I'd be crushed." He kissed her forehead, keeping a watchful eye on Kohaku and Rin.

Sango nodded, her fingers playing with the engagement ring Miroku had given her, still hanging from the chain round her neck. "Well, I guess it's a good thing we won't have to deal with that then." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"A very good thing indeed," Miroku confirmed, planting another kiss in her hair.

Kohaku and Rin wandered back over to them after that, forcing the two of them to part and watch over Kirara's work as a group.

"She says she can smell fresh air," Rin informed them, taking a seat between Sango and Miroku and folding her knees up to her chest.

Miroku smiled at the young girl and mussed her hair in a brotherly manner. "Shouldn't be too much longer, then."

"Yeah," Kohaku said, stretching his arms above his head. "Kirara said maybe another hour or so. She says we should travel through the night to avoid being caught by yōkai."

Rin squeaked in fear at the mention of yōkai and buried her head in her arms. "I'm nervous!" she peeped, her voice muffled as she spoke into her forearms.

"Why?" Kohaku seemed baffled at her fear. After a month of imprisonment, he was restless and anxious to get out.

"It's scary to travel by night, and what if yōkai do find us?" Rin said, her eyes barely peeking over her folded arms to look at Kohaku.

"You'll be fine," Sango assured her, wrapping her arms around the huddled, nervous girl and giving her a comforting hug. "You'll have Kirara with you every step of the way, looking out for you."

"Yeah," Kohaku agreed quickly. He went a little red in the face and continued, "And, you know, I'll be there too. Watching out for you. . ."

Rin raised her head, looking at Kohaku in earnest. "Really? You'll protect me, Kohaku?"

Kohaku reddened further and looked down, playing in the dirt absentmindedly. "Yeah," he mumbled, giving a nod for emphasis.

Rin seemed overjoyed at his promise and lunged forward to give him a very eager hug. Sango and Miroku exchanged an amused look before looking back to Kirara's escape-way, listening to the sound of her continued resolute digging.

An hour and a half later, true to her word, Kirara shimmied her way out of the hole. "It's ready," she informed them proudly. She looked to Kohaku and Rin. "Let's go. It's just after sunset; we need to get a move on."

Rin looked fearful again. She looked to Sango and Miroku. "Are you sure you can't come with us?" she begged.

Miroku shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Rin. Kirara couldn't have made the hole wide enough for Sango and I to fit through without drawing attention from Kanna."

"You'll be alright, kiddo," Kirara assured her brightly. "I'll be right beside you."

"Me too," Kohaku muttered, his cheeks going red again as he offered Rin his hand. Kirara climbed out of the hole as he and Rin said good-bye to Miroku and Sango.

"I'll see you soon, Sister," Kohaku promised as he hugged Sango. He looked over to Rin, currently bidding farewell to Miroku before he turned back to his sister. "Promise me you won't get too distracted with each other while you're alone," he said lowly, nodding towards Miroku.

Sango's eyes widened. "How did you know?" She was blushing furiously, embarrassed by the fact that her younger brother would insinuate something so scandalous of her.

"I've known for a while," Kohaku admitted with a small smile. "You're kind of obvious, Sis. But don't worry, I'm okay with it." He gave Miroku a strange look. "Mostly."

Sango gave him one last hug before whispering in his ear, "Thank you."

Kohaku smiled bravely at her, taking ahold of Rin's hand again and leading her over to their escape route. He helped her climb in down in the hole before following close behind. Kirara was about to follow them when Sango grabbed her arm.

"Be careful," she implored the cat yōkai. "Watch out for them. And please hurry."

Kirara saluted Sango loyally, giving her and Miroku a confident grin. "Don't worry, we'll reach Miko's Realm in no time." She wiggled her way back into the hole; only her head and shoulders were visible. "We'll let King Higurashi and Queen Emi know," she vowed, before disappearing completely down the hole.

* * *

"Hey, Kagome!" Ayame flagged the princess down, running up to her eagerly. "Koga wants to talk to you."

"He does?" Kagome was surprised. Koga hadn't spent much time around her since she'd explained the treaty concerning her betrothal to Inuyasha to him.

"Yeah," Ayame said, taking ahold of her wrist and pulling her along. "Come on, he says it's urgent!"

Kagome allowed herself to be dragged to Koga, her mind reeling with the possibilities of why he would demand to see her so urgently. She rather hoped it was not to declare his infatuation with her once again, especially not with Ayame around. Her friendship with the Wolf Tribe princess was already so strained.

Koga had his back to the girls as they neared him, his hands folded behind him as he stared at the sunset. Kagome approached him warily, clearing her throat to alert him of her presence before she remembered that as a yōkai, he could smell when she was near.

"You wanted to see me?" she called out to him.

"Kagome!" Koga turned to greet her, his characteristic arrogant smirk playing across his lips. "There you are! Yes, we need to talk."

He sat down in front of the fire, patting the ground next to him, inviting her to sit. Kagome looked back at Ayame for reassurance, only sitting when she was waved forward.

"We need to talk about what?" Kagome asked, still on edge and guarded.

"Relax, Kagome, you're not in trouble," Ayame chided lightly, taking a spot across the fire from them. "Koga just has a proposition for you."

Kagome turned to Koga for confirmation, her curiosity growing as he nodded solemnly. "What kind of proposition?"

"About the Sacred Jewel," Koga began, then on Kagome's look, he quickly added, "No, no, nothing like that, I promise. I don't want it for myself, believe it or not." He grinned. "I want nothing more than for it to be in your possession again, Princess."

"Then what about it?" Kagome demanded, her defenses up. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing," Koga assured her, "Yet. That'll come later. What's important now is that I have decided that my tribe and I will personally lead you and that mangy mutt back to Inu no Taisho's castle."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes. But that's not all. We're going to help you defeat this Naraku guy. Help you take back what's yours, as it were."

Kagome smiled broadly. It all seemed too good to be true! She couldn't picture a better way out of this mess.

"Koga," she whispered overwhelmed with gratitude. She looked at Ayame, who gave her a buoyant grin. "Oh, Koga, Ayame, you'd do that for us?"

"Well, more so for you than the mutt," Koga clarified nonchalantly. "And for me."

Kagome's smile faltered. "What do you mean?"

"I don't work for free," Koga went on smugly, "Naturally, there's a price for my services."

Sighing, Kagome massaged her temples in mild frustration. "What do you want, Koga?"

"Lucky for you, I've already named my price." He exchanged a sneaky grin with Ayame. "I want an in."

"An in?" Kagome was confused.

"An in. You know, a link, a reference, a way in with the king."

"What are you going to do to him?"

Koga laughed. "Nothing. All I want is a treaty of my own. An alliance."

Kagome nodded slowly. "That's all?"

"Cross my heart."

She mulled it over a few more times, questioning Koga's intentions and innocence and finding no faults with his offer. "Okay," she agreed, offering a hand to Koga, who shook it with arrogance. "It's a deal." Her smile widened again. "Thank you so much, Koga, Ayame!" She got to her feet excitedly. "I have to go tell Inuyasha!"

She found him not too far off, getting his own campfire started as the night darkened.

"Inuyasha," she greeted cheerfully, "I have some good news!"

"Oh yeah?" He seemed suspicious. "Is that why you've been gone?"

"Yes," Kagome confirmed. "I was talking to Koga. He offered us a proposition."

Inuyasha dropped his flint in surprise. "_What_?" he snapped.

"A proposition," Kagome repeated patiently. "He's going to take us back to the castle and help us get the Sacred Jewel back from Naraku! All he wants in return is an alliance with your father."

Again, Inuyasha balked. "And did you accept?"

"Yes! Of course I did. Inuyasha, he's going to lead us back to the castle," she exclaimed emphatically. "We'll finally be out of this mess!"

Inuyasha stared at her with some measure of incredulity. "You accepted a deal with a yōkai?"

Kagome nodded, feeling confused and a little hurt by his lack of excitement at her news. "I trust him," she told him weakly.

He studied her intently, as if trying to search for Koga's faults through her. Evidently not finding any, he sighed in defeat. "Alright," he conceded. "We'll take the deal."

Kagome clapped her hands once in victory before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! After a month in this place, we're finally going home!"

Suddenly, she paused and pushed back on Inuyasha's shoulders to look him in the eye. She looked markedly less happy than she'd been only a few seconds ago.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded, a little flustered at her romantic display.

"It's been a month," Kagome explained mournfully. "In three days, we were supposed to be married."

Inuyasha reddened at her overly emotional state. "A-and?" he stammered.

"Well, obviously, that won't happen now. We don't know how long it'll take us to get back and . . . and—I don't know. I was so looking forward to our wedding, and all of that still seems so far away. . ."

Inuyasha wasn't quite sure what to say. He knew that he should offer her some comfort, and more importantly, he _wanted_ to let her know that he didn't have any intention to call off their wedding.

"Hey," he said, his voice low. Kagome looked at him, her eyes fogged over with tears. "Just because it'll be a little late doesn't mean it won't happen. You know . . . we'll still get married."

Kagome hiccupped on a soft, yet happy cry. "Inuyasha," she whimpered joyfully, running her fingers through his long, silvery hair.

Groaning inwardly, Inuyasha promptly let go of all his reservations and hesitations and pushed his lips hungrily against hers. Though she was surprised, Kagome quickly responded, her hands folding behind his neck before tangling eagerly in his hair. Feeling quite victorious, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, nipping her bottom lip with his fangs almost shyly. She allowed him to deepen the kiss happily, sighing as his tongue pushed against hers. Taking a similar initiative, she trailed one hand down to his chest, sliding it into the opening of his shirt and exploring his muscles with a fervent curiosity.

Inuyasha stiffened a little as her fingers traced lightly across his chest, before he pushed further into their embrace. His hands, already holding her hips possessively, wandered dangerously lower; his thumbs massaged the sensitive bit where her thighs met her hips. Any further, he realized, and he'd be taking a leaf out of Miroku's perverted book.

Kagome moaned lightly through his administrations, and he suddenly didn't care if it was perverted or not, so long as they both got what they wanted. . .

A sudden "Ahem!" broke them apart hastily. Ayame was there, giving them a lewd and mischievous grin.

"Hey," she said casually, "I'm sorry to interrupt; I just wanted to let you both know that it'll take us at least two days to get to the castle." She waved, signaling her departure. "Now, please, get back to what you were doing!"

Kagome blushed, her cheeks reddening further as she looked down and realized that Inuyasha had pulled her onto his lap during their kiss. She looked up at him, almost surprised to see him looking so calm. There wasn't any trace of his normal agitation after their prior moments; rather, he looked determined and very satisfied.

"Inuyasha?" She'd never seen this side of him before; she wondered if anyone had seen this side of him at all. It made her feel like he really belonged to her, and she to him. She kissed him again, trembling slightly as his hand slowly and deliberately trailed up her side, his claws scraped lightly against her neck and jaw.

"Two days," he murmured against her lips. "Two days. . ."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Twelve

"Kohaku!" Kirara hissed nervously between clenched teeth "Get down!" She was pressed up against the outer wall of the castle, pinning Rin down beside her as she tried to melt as far as she could in the shadows. Kohaku, who had run ahead anxiously as the castle's outer wall and gates had come into view, ducked down following Kirara's suit as he tried to make himself disappear into the shadow of the wall.

Kirara smelled the air suspiciously. "Something's up," she muttered. "There's something weird in the air."

"What do you mean, weird?" Rin whispered apprehensively as Kirara sniffed around again. "Did somebody catch us?"

Shaking her head, Kirara said, "No, I don't think so. But I smell something different. Something. . ." She sniffed again, before angrily huffing the air back out her nose, as if she had just smelled a horrendous odor. Letting out a very cat-like hiss she spat, "Wolves!" Her pupils narrowed into slits. "A lot of them; almost smells like an entire tribe."

Rin nearly went into hysterics. "What are Wolves doing here?"

"I don't know," Kirara said slowly, trying to work out the same inquiry in her own mind. "Maybe they're after the Jewel?"

Kohaku waved over to them, gesturing for them to crawl to him. "Come on!" he called in a hushed voice. "There's a drainage gate not too far ahead of me. We can fit through there!"

Holding Rin close to her side, Kirara slowly and methodically made her way up to Kohaku. He led them a little ways further down the wall, keeping their backs pressed to the hard mortar and stone. Kirara dug a little around one of the bars of the drainage gate, nearly exposing the end of it before she kicked it aside, creating a space big enough for the three of them to slip through.

It was a short jog to the castle gate, which thankfully was left unguarded. The spaces between the bars on this gate were much wider, and they were able to slip through on their sides quite easily. Once they were through, they got a better look at the approaching Wolf Tribe, and Kirara snorted more out of her nose in offense.

Kirara held her arms out protectively in front of Kohaku and Rin. "Stay close to me," she warned in a low voice. "We don't know what they're up to."

Rin grabbed ahold of Kirara's arm like a vice, taking no issue with her demand. Kohaku, on the other hand, leaned around the cat yōkai as far as he could to get a better look at the Wolf Tribe. He studied them as well as he could in the gray before the sunrise, watching as they kept to the shadows of the edge of Yōkai Forests.

"Look at them," he alerted his companions, using his finger to point out a few Wolves broken off from the rest at the front of the pack. "They're acting strange."

Kirara followed his finger and took a long look at the tribe herself, cocking her feline head in bemusement. "You're right. . ." she muttered contemplatively.

Seeming to be the only one left out of the loop, Rin complained desperately, "What are you two talking about? Why are they strange?"

"Why are they sticking to the shadows if yōkai are free to come and go from the castle?" Kirara explained in a rhetorical question. "You'd think that a wolf tribe would be jumping at the chance to forge some sort of alliance with Naraku."

Kohaku nodded fervently in agreement. "It's almost as if they're trying to _sneak_ their way in," he added, "Like they want to catch everyone off-guard."

The three of them kept their eyes divided between watching the Wolf Tribe and the road in front of them. The farther they got from the castle, the more Kohaku's hypothesis seemed to be confirmed. Even the fact that the Wolves made no move towards them was suspicious; if Kirara could smell them, then their own scents were definitely picked up by the tribe, though they kept at bay.

"Come on," Kohaku urged impatiently, tugging on Kirara's and Rin's wrists. "We've wasted two days getting out of the castle grounds; we need to get to King Higurashi!"

"Yeah," Kirara agreed. "I don't want to waste any more time, especially with that Wolf Tribe hanging around."

* * *

Kagura fixed Sesshomaru with a hard glare. No matter how hard she pushed, he wouldn't give her an inch. She was beginning to think she'd made a mistake in her choice of ally.

"You're really not going to fight?" she asked disbelievingly. "You've been held prisoner for a month, and you're not going to do anything about it?"

Sesshomaru stared at her uninterestedly. "I'm not one to be goaded into pointless fights," he said flatly.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation Kagura approached his bedside. "How is a fight over the Sacred Jewel pointless?" she demanded. "Or is it that you just don't believe me when I say Naraku is weakened?"

Again, Sesshomaru looked unimpressed. He rose from the edge of the bed where he sat, preferring to keep distance between him and the offshoot of Naraku. He wandered over to the window, studying the silent castle grounds as the sun peeked over the mountains.

Kagura remained sitting on the bed, feeling frustrated and defeated at the same time. The Crown Prince was the only person she thought she had some leg room with, someone that would allow her to talk candidly and someone who would have a better chance believing her. Dejected and irritated, she balanced her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand. Maybe there wasn't any chance of him believing her. To suddenly switch sides on Naraku was one thing, but to suddenly switch sides on the one person who, if destroyed, meant her own destruction? She wouldn't want to hear it either.

Sesshomaru kept his eyes focused on the grounds, growing weary of Kagura's constant pestering. He knew very well that the time was quickly approaching when he'd be able to break free of his meager prison, free his father, and defeat Naraku, though he certainly did not need Kagura over his shoulder, trying to push his carefully laid-out plan into action prematurely. After all, why rush something that was already so near?

Then, a new and very peculiar scent wafted on the breeze.

Sesshomaru smirked. See now, Kagura? If only she had held on to her patience for two or so more days. Yes, Naraku was nowhere near as indestructible as he believed, and now that there would be proper distraction, Sesshomaru could work his way into some greater plot.

Before she could even blink, Sesshomaru was at Kagura's side again, his large, clawed hand clenching around her thin neck dangerously. He held her suspended a few inches off the ground effortlessly, his cruel smirk only widening as she gasped for air, looking at him with indignant apprehension.

"Now, it is time," he informed her casually, and her eyes widened. "Take me to my father."

* * *

Kikyo leaned heavily against the back of King Inu no Taisho's throne. She had taken refuge in the throne room, hoping to remain close to Naraku before whatever curse he'd hit her with finally ran its course. The past two days had been utter hell; her heart began beating erratically, she was constantly sweating and the taste of blood had never left her mouth.

Perhaps this was the atonement she had been seeking for her part in the Sacred Jewel becoming corrupted. The Jewel itself, of course, could've destroyed her just for attempting to purify it, so in some small way, her dying at the hands of Naraku was a heartening comfort. It could mean that her soul would find rest, rather than being damned to restless turmoil in the afterlife. Kikyo found it no longer mattered that she was guaranteed to die in this final battle for the purification of the Jewel, just so long as she could last long enough to see Naraku's downfall. Her wishes and regrets had culminated into one final desire to see light in the kingdom once again, then the fates could have her.

She heard the heavy door to the throne room open, and fast-paced footsteps began marching towards her. She tensed, anxiety brewing nauseously in her stomach as the intruder—it had to be none other than Naraku—seemed to be coming right at her. The tension inside her died a little as he merely took a seat in the king's throne and balanced his shakujō against the arm rest. Kikyo didn't dare breathe, ignoring as her lungs burned desperately for air, and she silenced her dying body as best she could, hoping that Naraku would not notice that she sat directly behind him.

His fingers began rapping the arm rest impatiently, and Kikyo listened as he puffed irritated sighs out of his nose frequently. Her brow furrowed in confusion. His foul mood appeared quite suddenly, as the last time she saw Naraku, he still seemed quite assured of his newfound power. Her anxiety completely melted away as hope began percolating in her heart. Had her purification attempt made a difference after all? She tried to rationalize with herself; Naraku oftentimes became jittery and vexed after talking with the king, as if the monarch's words always struck a little too close to home. Maybe he had just come from the King Inu no Taisho's makeshift cell, and he was angry that he still had not managed to break the king's spirit.

"It burns. . ." Naraku suddenly complained through clenched teeth, and Kikyo gathered that he was fiddling with his breastplate. Again, hope and confusion bombarded her. Why would the Sacred Jewel burn him if he'd managed to keep it corrupt?

"It's been two days," he went on, talking to himself out of anger and perplexity. "Two days should've been more than enough time to get rid of the light that bitch implanted. . ."

Triumph soared through her and Kikyo closed her eyes in gratitude, a small smile gracing her weakened features. It'd worked! She'd managed to restore some light to the Sacred Jewel. Then her smile faltered a little. Naraku was right, without her remaining in close proximity to the Jewel, that light should've dissipated by now. Yet something was keeping it there, and maintaining its strength enough that it caused Naraku discomfort. There was only one other person she was aware of that could keep that amount of light present in the Jewel. . .

"_Why won't it obey me?!_" Naraku roared furiously to the throne room, his terrifying shout echoing off of the marbled walls and startling Kikyo.

Kikyo willed her already frantically beating heart to calm as Naraku stormed around the room, pacing fitfully in frustration. The victorious smile returned to her face. Her suspicions had been confirmed. Princess Kagome must have been nearby.

* * *

Kagome stayed close to Inuyasha as they awaited the signal from Koga's signal. He and Ayame had gone ahead, slipping through a broken drainage gate in the outer wall of the castle while the princess and prince remained at the gate with Hakkaku, Ginta, and the rest of the tribe. The nerve-wracking anticipation was almost too much for Kagome to bear, and she release some of the pent-up energy by squeezing Inuyasha's hand in a vice-like grip.

It had been quite a journey, but they finally reached the castle. When the gate first came into view, Kagome wanted to drop to her knees in overwhelming gratitude. King Inu no Taisho's castle was not even her home yet, though she still felt an enormous wave of homesickness withdraw from her heart. This was it: the final battle. In a few moments' time, she, Inuyasha and the rest of the Wolf Tribe would be taking the castle and everyone in it by surprise. She yearned to see everybody again, wanting to know if they were safe. Had Sango and her younger brother managed to flee the castle? Did her own parents even know of the past month's events? So many questions swam through her mind, and yet, Kagome still wished she could skip forward in time so she could miss the actual battle. She had never fought anyone before, and the fight that ultimately concerned the fate of two entire nations was not exactly an easy burden to bear. If she made it through this, she vowed right then and there to immediately install a law of pacifism as the first act of being the crowned guardian of the Sacred Jewel.

"Would you stop that?" Inuyasha suddenly complained and Kagome started from her thoughts.

Her brow furrowed in mild confusion. "Stop what?"

"You're grinding your teeth. I have sensitive hearing and the noise is making me wince."

"Oh." Kagome blushed and looked away. "Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous."

Inuyasha studied her for a moment, feeling very guilty that he'd berated her essentially for being a little frightened. "Hey," he said, his voice gruff and apologetic. "It's going to be okay, you know that, right?" He gave her hand, still clenching desperately around his, a comforting squeeze.

Kagome still seemed unsure, though she nodded anyway. "I know. It's just. . . I've never done anything like this before. I don't know what to expect."

Inuyasha nodded as well, understanding her nerves. "I haven't done anything like this either," he admitted, "But I know we'll win. We have to."

Throwing her arms around his chest, Kagome hugged him from behind. "I don't want to lose you, Inuyasha," she cried softly, burying her face in his hair.

"You won't," he promised, holding her hands to his chest. His grip tightened momentarily, his claws lightly scratching her soft skin. "Just . . . stay by my side, okay?" His voice was uncharacteristically mild and quiet, and Kagome pulled away from the embrace a little to see his face. He didn't meet her gaze, his eyes remaining downcast, though his brow creased with determination. "I need you, Kagome."

Kagome blushed; it was the first time he'd called her by name. She searched his eyes almost desperately, trying to sort through the consuming, myriad emotions crashing at her, slowing her response. Should she confess her love to him again? Should she demand the same request of him, or perhaps just kiss him? Was a time like this inappropriate to be kissing?

"Okay," she finally agreed lamely, tightening her embrace and laying her cheek on the cushion of his hair again.

"Guys!" Hakkaku and Ginta were flagging them down. Inuyasha followed their fingers and found Ayame and Koga near the opening of the outer wall, waving them in. It was time.

* * *

**AN: I know I said I wouldn't be writing these things, but I contradict myself all the time, so you'll have to get used to that. Sorry. Anyway, the reason this notice is here is because I wanted to warn you that this thing is quickly coming to a close. Like, super super quickly. I'll post the last chapter (hopefully) tomorrow, and then the epilogue will follow and you'll hear from me again. Sound like a plan? Deal. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Chapter Thirteen

Naraku's pacing footsteps thundered off the throne room's walls. The burn from the light in the Jewel was quickly becoming too much for him to bear. That damn Kikyo had a greater influence over the Jewel than he had imagined. Her ill-will with Princess Kagome must've dwindled some if she'd managed to find the peace and light within herself to pull off such a feat. He huffed in pure irritation. One good-intending soul was going to set his plans back for an incalculable amount of time. At the very least he'd been able to kill Kikyo before she could cause too much damage. So why had the light within the Jewel continued to linger?

A thought occurred to him, and he paused. The purity in the Jewel thrives on humanity, and he himself was only half-yōkai, a mild annoyance he'd planned to rid himself of. Well, he mused to himself pointedly, there was no time like the present.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Naraku raised his left hand, holding it palm up-and-open. He'd managed to create two yōkai offshoots by utilizing this same technique; theoretically, it should work to rid himself of his human lineage. He gritted his teeth, preparing himself for the pain and discomfort when the doors of the throne room flew open, with such force it ripped the doors off a couple of their hinges.

A fully transformed King Inu no Taisho stood in the doorway, glowering frighteningly at Naraku. Toxic saliva dripped from his elongated fangs and his eyes were glowing a dangerous blood-red, a terrifying low growl emanating from his snarling lips. Naraku was too stunned to move, and for a moment all he did was stare disbelievingly at the Yōkai King. How on earth had he escaped from his cell?

Finally, his senses snapped back into action and he aimed his shakujō at Inu no Taisho, ready to fire. Curiously, the king did not move from the doorway, merely hunching his shoulders imposingly and continuing to snarl.

Another large, similar-looking transformed dog yōkai suddenly leapt over the top of the King—the Crown Prince Sesshomaru. Naraku was not prepared for his appearance and was caught off-guard, allowing Sesshomaru to sink his own toxic fangs deep into Naraku's left arm, still suspended in the air.

Naraku screamed as Sesshomaru ripped his arm from his body effortlessly, spraying the both of them with a smattering of foul-smelling blood. He collapsed onto one knee, struggling to keep his head from swimming as miasma and blood continued to seep from his arm-less shoulder. There was commotion ringing in the hallway, growing nearer and nearer to the throne room.

A weak yet contemptuous smile came to his face. "You hear that, _Your Majesty?_" There was a snide emphasis as he mocked the king; "They're coming to my aid. This is far from over!"

"Oh, no," a prideful voice called out smartly from behind the king. "I'd say we're just getting started."

Naraku looked at the king, who seemed just as curious as he as two Wolves, a male and female, marched cockily passed Inu no Taisho's enormous paw.

Smirking, Naraku struggled to his feet, summoning his power to clot his wound unnaturally fast. "Come to join me, boy?" He addressed the male Wolf, figuring him to be some sort of tribal leader.

"Sorry," the Wolf replied unapologetically, "But I serve the princess."

On cue, Kagome entered the throne room, looking a little worse for wear but very much alive. She was accompanied by Prince Inuyasha, holding his hand firmly. The second she entered the room, the light in the Sacred Jewel brightened considerably, causing Naraku to clap a hand to his chest in pain and fall back to his knees.

"_It's over, Naraku!_" King Inu no Taisho boomed, coming in behind his youngest son.

"_No!_" Naraku smashed his shakujō into the hard stone floor with a deafening crack. Hordes of frightening, feral yōkai burst from the splintered ground. Possessed guards pushed into the room behind the Wolf Tribe leader, the King, and prince and princess, mixed with was looked to be the rest of the Wolf Tribe.

Princess Kagome screamed as a snake yōkai fell on the Wolf Tribe leader, causing his female companion to jump to his aid. Inuyasha swung Kagome onto his back protectively, leaping out of the way in time to avoid being overtaken by a multi-eyed yōkai with very long talons. A full-out battle exploded almost out of nowhere as Wolves, yōkai, and possessed human guards attacked each other mercilessly, all immediately going for the kill. Taking advantage of the King and Crown Prince's distraction, Naraku half-ran, half-dragged himself to stand between the thrones at the head of the room, intending to let his stooges take the fall for him.

* * *

Kagura remained behind in the guest chambers where Sesshomaru had been imprisoned moments before. She felt terribly weak; her left arm sported several bite-mark looking wounds and blood flowed freely, dripping from her fingertips to the floor and her chest burned horribly. Kanna stood nearby, showing similar injuries and holding her mirror aloft, giving them a window to Naraku's doings in the throne room. Kagura confirmed that her wounded arm was a direct result of Naraku's arm being bitten off by Sesshomaru, and that the burning in her chest was caused by the light in the Jewel becoming stronger.

Lounging back on the bed, Kagura laughed bitterly. Her body was mirroring Naraku's, and if he felt even half as terrible as she did, then their destruction couldn't be far off. Kanna didn't seem to be as winded by her wounds as she, though her mirror now sported a hefty crack through the glass.

It seemed pathetic that they were doomed to die so quickly, after only a month-long life. Though, Kagura figured, being created by a deranged, power-hungry traitor wasn't much of a life to begin with.

* * *

Koga pounced on a possessed guard before it was able to deliver a blow to Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome offered her gratitude immediately, with Inuyasha giving a belligerent nod, seeming angry that he had to thank Koga at all.

Grinning victoriously, Koga set the blade of the guard's own sword against his throat, scoffing as the guard stared up at him dumbly, apparently unaware that his life was about to be ended.

"No!"

All three looked at the doorway, where Queen Izayoi ran into the room, followed closely by Miroku and Sango, having been released by the Queen.

"They're only possessed," Izayoi explained, putting her hand on Koga's to still the weapon. "You mustn't kill them."

Koga huffed impatiently, before promptly bringing the golden-laid handle of the sword down sharply on the back of the guard's skull. He slumped to the floor limply, and everyone gave Koga an inquisitive look.

"What?" he said defensively. "He'll live."

"Princess!" Sango ran over to Inuyasha and Kagome. "I'm so glad to see you! Are you alright?"

Kagome climbed off of Inuyasha's back and threw her arms around her Lady-in-Waiting's shoulders. "Oh, Sango! I've missed you!"

Sango grabbed Kagome's wrist, pulling her close and snatching the unconscious guard's sword up from where Koga had dropped it. "Stay close to me, Princess. I'll protect you."

Inuyasha bristled. "_I'll _protect her," he declared, taking ahold of Kagome's other wrist possessively.

Sango shook her head. "I've got her, Your Majesty. You can't fight to your fullest with the princess on your back."

Miroku clapped a comforting hand to Inuyasha's shoulder. "She's in good hands, trust me. We'll look after her." He extended a hand to Queen Izayoi. "Come with me, Your Grace."

Inuyasha watched as Miroku led his mother to a safe corner; using his body as a shield should any yōkai attack them. He looked to Kagome, his hold on her wrist still firm, and then to Sango who gave him a pleading look.

He knew Sango was right. He would be seriously impeding his abilities with Kagome riding aloft his back, but he was reluctant to trust her safety with anybody but him.

"Inuyasha," Kagome spoke his name softly and he looked back to her face to find her giving him a look of comfort. "I'll be okay," she promised. "You have to believe in Sango."

"I'll protect her with my life, Prince," Sango added.

Finally, Inuyasha nodded his approval. He brought Kagome in for a hug, taking a moment to relish the embrace and take a few whiffs of her intoxicating scent.

"I love you, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered in his ear. "I'll be watching. Please, be safe."

Giving her one last squeeze, Inuyasha pushed Kagome back to Sango. "If anything happens to her. . . " He let the threat hang in the air unfinished.

Sango nodded understandingly. She led the princess to the same corner as Miroku and the Queen, swiping expertly at any yōkai that came in her way with her acquired sword.

Inuyasha, after making sure they'd reached the corner safely, looked around for a moment, studying the ongoing battle intently and judging the best position to join the fray.

The limp bodies of several yōkai were suddenly tossed over his head and he ducked, looking for the source of such an impressive amount of defeated yōkai.

"Dad!" he yelled up to the oppressive, royal dog yōkai.

"_Get underneath me, son!_" the king advised in his thundering voice. "_I'll cover you!_"

Inuyasha obeyed, running between the mighty legs of his father as the enormous Dog created a pathway through the battle for him.

"I've got to get the Jewel," Inuyasha shouted up to King Inu no Taisho, who nodded and barked to Sesshomaru.

"_Take care of the vermin!_" he ordered his oldest son. "_I've got to get Inuyasha to Naraku!_"

Sesshomaru bowed his head affirmatively, swiping one giant paw and smashing the wriggling bodies of hundreds of reptilian yōkai. With his father and brother clearing the way for him, Inuyasha was able to make it from one end of the room to the other in record time.

* * *

"Hurry up, Miroku!" Sango shouted impatiently over her shoulder as she drove her blade through the head of yet another yōkai as if dove for them, mouth wide and dripping. "I thought you said you'd have a barrier up in no time!"

"Yes well," Miroku snapped back, equally as impatient, "Channeling such power requires a great deal of concentration, something that, under these circumstances—" he broke off as pungent yōkai blood splattered across his face, the result of Sango beheading one as it flew for the princess,"—is hard to come by!"

Sango hardly looked apologetic as she shrugged sheepishly under her fiancé's blank, flat, irritated stare. Kagome bent down to Miroku's seated level, doing her best to wipe the drying blood off his cheek. Izayoi hugged his shoulders supportively as Sango continued killing any and all yōkai coming their way.

"You can do it, Miroku," the queen urged him faithfully. "You must!"

Nodding, Miroku clenched his eyes shut, straightening his meditative posture and replacing his hands on his knees, palm up. He did his best to block out the earsplitting sounds of battle, chanting his mantra over and over in his mind.

"Prepare yourselves!" he heard Sango warn. He opened his eyes to see three possessed guards lumbering towards them clumsily, their swords ready to strike.

"We've got company!"

* * *

Naraku looked worse for wear when Inuyasha met up with him at the head of the throne room. Even so, he pushed himself to his feet, wielding his shakujō threateningly with his only remaining hand as Inuyasha climbed the few stairs up to the thrones.

"End of the line, whelp!" Naraku shouted as the ornament of his shakujō began to glow a dull green.

"I could say the same for you," Inuyasha responded coolly, cracking his knuckles as he raised his hand to the ready.

He jumped, swinging his arm high overhead to land the blow. Naraku aimed the burning shakujō right at his chest. There was not the usual power in his staff as before, but it was still enough to knock Inuyasha to the ground. Placing a boot to his ribcage, he kicked the fallen prince down the stairs.

Inuyasha struggled to his feet, wiping his nose of the thin trickle of blood from his fall. He'd barely stood when Naraku swung his shakujō again, the sharpened edge of the ornament slicing deeply into his shoulder and across his chest. Inuyasha made a choking sound, twisting around in midair before tumbling down the stairs again.

Growling in pain and frustration, Inuyasha pushed himself to his feet again. He wasn't about to lose to Naraku. Still, even with his arm missing he possessed great power, but the prince was stubborn. He took Naraku's strikes head-on, forcing himself back up after each one. In Naraku's state he was bound to tire quickly, and Inuyasha kept relentlessly rising to his feet, even as his broken and bleeding body screamed in protest.

Naraku swung the end of the shakujō around; shoving it into Inuyasha's stomach and knocking him to the floor for the umpteenth time. Before he could summon the strength to steady himself, Naraku planted to blunt end of the shakujō into the small of his back, pinning him down. Placing the steel bottom of his heavy boot on Inuyasha's limp hand, Naraku twisted his foot cruelly, taking a sick delight as the bones crunched under the force.

"Look at them, Prince. Your freedom fighters, your _heroes_," Naraku taunted, stretching his hand grandly at the fight going on before them.

Inuyasha groaned lowly, fighting to keep his eyes focused as he followed Naraku's hand. Everything to be moving in slow-motion: Sango was in the midst of a three-against-one sword fight, standing just outside of a small, flickering barrier being generated by Miroku as he protected the queen and princess; Koga was running to Ayame's aid as a dozen yōkai surrounded her; King Inu no Taisho and Sesshomaru swatted guards aside with their massive paws, an occasional roar emanating from their throats. The battle was constant and frustratingly equal on both sides, and at this rate it threatened to run everyone into exhaustion.

His eyes began to dim and Inuyasha was helpless as they slowly rolled shut. Every inch of him echoed and throbbed in scorching agony. He felt his mind teeter into unconsciousness.

* * *

Kagome screamed as Naraku pinned a beaten Inuyasha to the ground. Several times she had tried to run to him, only to be held back by Queen Izayoi.

"Let me go!" she pleaded desperately, "I have to go to him; he needs me!"

"You can't," Izayoi said. "Don't worry, he'll be fine." She didn't seem convinced by her own words.

Kagome continued to struggle against her hold, tears streaming down her face freely. Fear and uncertainly claimed a little more of her heart as she watched the battle progress tirelessly. Collapsing to her knees, she buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

She heard Miroku shout and looked up in time to see Sango being pushed backwards into the barrier, breaking the monk's concentration as she fell into his lap. Kagome looked wildly as the two remaining guards stumbled towards them, unhindered as the barrier dissipated. One of the guards had already been defeated by Sango, his unconscious body lying on his stomach and revealing a quiver on his back, with one arrow left.

As Miroku helped Sango to her feet, Kagome acted on impulse and dove for the guard's quiver, ignoring the queen's cry of protest. She pushed against his side with all her might, rolling his limp body over and uncovering his discarded bow.

It was a wild shot, but if it could save Inuyasha, she had to try.

* * *

In the recesses of his darkened mind, Inuyasha became aware of his heart beat quickening erratically. His skin suddenly felt scalding hot, as if his blood was literally boiling in his veins. He was very aware of the fact that he could no longer cognitively feel his injuries, only the rush of pure adrenaline pumping from head to toe.

He let out a low snarl, a last warning to Naraku to remove the shakujō from his back and take his foot of his hand. Leaping to his feet, Inuyasha knocked Naraku away, smirking as the traitor stumbled away in bafflement and alarm.

"_Naraku_. . ." Inuyasha sneered, his voice sounding very unlike his own.

Naraku was studying him intently, looking at his as if he'd never seen him before. Inuyasha smirked again as he cracked his knuckles, feeling jittery and restless with the pent-up energy bubbling inside him. There was a raising commotion coming from the courtyards, shouts and calls of joy and gratitude amidst trumpet blasts.

"_I know those trumpets_," King Inu no Taisho said in wonderment. "_It's King Higurashi! He's sent reinforcements!_"

"Kirara made it!" Sango cried happily, taking use of the momentary pause in her fight to wipe the sweat from her brow.

Inuyasha let out a low snarling chuckle as he turned back to Naraku. "Looks like you're through," he mocked, using the same cheeky voice that Naraku had used to taunt him earlier. He dug his claws into his shoulder wound unflinchingly, letting his blood drip venomously off his fingertips. His blood was not nearly as toxic as his father's and brother's, his having been diluted some by his human genetics, though there was still some potency to it.

He slashed Naraku across the face, sending him tumbling backwards, dropping his shakujō has he clutched his bleeding, infected cheek. Raising his claws, Inuyasha prepared for another slash when he heard his name; long and drawn out in a desperate scream.

"_Inuyasha!_" His mind, for some reason, was prohibiting him from placing the voice. Almost sluggishly he turned, staring at the source of the cry in confusion.

Kagome. . . She was armed with a bow and arrow, defiantly aimed at Naraku. Whispering a silent prayer, she released the arrow, and Inuyasha dodged out of the way as it came whizzing passed his nose. It was as if the entire room quieted at once as the arrow shot through the air, watching in anticipation to see if it would hit the mark.

The arrow pierced Naraku's breastplate, seeming to halt suspended in the air as it touched the Sacred Jewel. A bright light suddenly burst from the Jewel, disintegrating the arrow completely as the black corruption vanished. Naraku was thrown violently on his back, screaming in horror and pain as the Jewel purified itself and the miasma coursing through his veins.

He lay sprawled between the thrones, feeling as his bones slowly crumbled and his organs degenerated into ashes as the Jewel purified him. Tossing his head around wildly, Naraku tried to focus on something—anything—to save his life. His eyes found Kikyo, who sat behind the king's throne, watching his with a tired, but bittersweet smile.

"You don't have power anymore," she whispered, placing her hand on the Sacred Jewel still mounted in the center of his chest. Her voice was nearly indistinguishable to the normal ear, as yōkai began writhing and melting away into nothingness from the effects of the purification; though to Naraku it rang terrifyingly loud. She closed her eyes and dropped her hand, and Naraku returned his attention to the glowing Jewel.

He was turning into nothing.

* * *

The excruciating pain left as quickly as it came on. Kagura turned to Kanna, a tired laugh escaping her lips as she took in the small girl, sitting slumped and slowly collapsing into a pile of dust. She felt her heart beat for the first time; a bitter irony in the face of her death.

Giving a peaceful sigh, Kagura closed her eyes slowly. She was free.

* * *

The room was eerily quiet; all eyes focused on the motionless body as it broke into pieces, as if were only made of dirt and clay all along. Finally, all that was left was the Sacred Jewel, sitting calmly and purely amidst errant clumps of burnt ash.

After a moment, Kagome regained control over her muscles and she slowly approached Inuyasha, who loomed over the remains of Naraku's body imposingly. The room remained in silence as she walked up the stairs to meet him, nervously gaging the reaction of the transformed prince.

"Inuyasha?" Her voice was small, and she jumped as he whipped around to face her.

His eyes were flat and blue, looking soulless surrounded by bloody whites. There were jagged lines jutting down his cheek bones, and his fangs and claws looked longer and sharper than usual. Kagome unwillingly paused momentarily before she took another step towards him, sadly noting as he tensed and watched her predatorily.

"Inuyasha," she pleaded, her hands cupping his face gently and her eyes searching his. "Are you in there?" She tried to ignore as he indignantly struggled under her touch. "Please come back to me. . ."

"Kagome. . ." Her name seemed foreign to him, but he knew she was important to him, someone he cared deeply for. He closed his eyes in frustration, willing his heart to stop beating so frantically and his blood to stop running so hot.

Finally, his eyes opened and Kagome let a few happy tears slide down her cheeks as she watched them fade from eerie blue and red to their normal piercing gold.

"Kagome," he said again, sounding much more confident and assured of her identity.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kagome threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. There was a victorious cry from somewhere in the crowd, and soon the throne room was shaking with joyous cries and laughter.

Inuyasha's parents ran to meet them, his father having restored to his accustomed human-like appearance.

"Well done, m'boy!" he cajoled proudly, slapping Inuyasha's shoulders boisterously. Queen Izayoi kissed both his and Kagome's foreheads, shedding a few happy tears of her own.

Other people ran to them then, led by Sango and Miroku and amid the hugs and congratulatory gestures, Kagome slipped away to retrieve the Sacred Jewel. As she bent down, something caught her eye and she turned, letting out a surprised and terrified gasp.

Kikyo was there, sitting slumped against the back of the king's throne. She looked frightfully pale and almost jaundiced, and there was a miniature river of dried blood leading out of her mouth and down her chin. She wasn't breathing.

There was something about her appearance, looking as though she'd been through a recent hell that made Kagome suspicious that she wouldn't have been able to purify the Jewel without Kikyo's help.

Placing a hand to her forehead, Kagome whispered reverently, "Thank you." She got her feet, holding the Sacred Jewel firmly in her fist.

She felt someone tugging at her hand and she turned, smiling widely as Inuyasha led her down the stairs.

"Looks like we've got a lot of cleaning up to do," he surmised, frowning at the mess that remained in the wake of the battle. He looked back at Kagome. "You ready?"

"Yeah," she said, her smile growing and her grip on Inuyasha's hand tightening. The Sacred Jewel burned brightly, warming her palm almost comfortingly. "I'm ready."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. **

Epilogue

_(Two months later)_

The chapel was stocked to its limit in guests as lords and ladies from both the Land of Yōkai and Miko's Realm came to see the much awaited—and long overdue—wedding of Prince Inuyasha and Princess Kagome.

It seemed that the near-destruction of the King Inu no Taisho's monarchy and the battle for the Sacred Jewel had already descended into legend, the folklore blurring the truth. The citizens of both kingdoms now looked forward to a new and bright future with Inuyasha and Kagome as the guardians of the Jewel, which rested peacefully in its rightful place: atop Kagome's glistening silver tiara, the perfect ornament for her long opaque white veil.

Kagome stood in front of the alter, facing Inuyasha and tapping her foot in excitement and impatience as she waited for Mushin to finish his sermon. Her parents were behind her, beaming with pride and mirroring similar looks on the faces of Inuyasha's parents, who likewise stood behind him. Inuyasha's eyes, however, never left hers.

Sango and Miroku sat on the front pew, smiling brightly at their long-time friends. Their hands were discreetly linked and resting on Sango's stomach as she diligently shielded it from view by a large bouquet of coordinating flowers. Though she still had some time to go to before she started showing, she insisted on making sure her unexpected pregnancy was concealed, though Miroku pointed out countless times that the only person who knew of their relationship—King Inu no Taisho—didn't need a swollen belly to indicate pregnancy. They had their own plans of elopement awaiting them at sunrise the next day.

Kohaku sat on Sango's other side, unaware of his sister's pregnancy and too preoccupied with his own blooming relationship with Rin to fret over much of anything else. Also on the first row was Koga, newly appointed King's Scout as he and Ayame managed to strike a bargain with Inu no Taisho to chart and order the Yōkai Forests for the monarchy in exchange for citizenship and—of course—the perks of being a member of the king's Court. Kirara rounded off the small list of guests honored with front-row seats, her role in warning King Higurashi and Queen Emi earning her an honorary title in Court as well.

Everyone was getting their happily-ever-after's that they'd so bravely fought for.

Even Princess Kagome, who'd just four months ago seriously considered running away from it all and who now lunged eagerly (and a little preemptively) into the embrace as Mushin signaled for the sealing kiss, was finally getting the husband she'd dreamed about since she was twelve.

* * *

**AN: So there ya go. All in its finished glory! Thanks for sticking out with me till the end, it's much appreciated. Remember to read and review, and now get ready for my shameless plug-in: I am currently writing another AU Inuyasha fanfic, which I'm working very diligently on so not too long from now (I hope) I'll be ready to start posting. Keep an eye out!**

**Thanks and much love.**

**Peace, Pookie92**


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